Of Good Report

Today's reading assignment was Helaman 5 and 1 Nephi 15:34. The quote was by Stephen Covey,"Character is the ability to carry out a decision after the emotion of making the decision is past. Integrity is keeping the promises we make to ourself." Helaman talked about why he named his children Nephi and Lehi. We discussed with our children why each of them got the name they did. I think names are important. I am glad our kids have righteous namesakes.  In verse 12 Healman teaches his sons and us, "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts int he whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, foundation where...

I was invited by a friend from my ward to participate in an exercise to invite the Spirit into my home and ward. I decided to accept. I will share the terms here and report on something I have learned each day , hopefully. It has been a while since I have written and this will hopefully get me going again. It isn't that there isn't anything going on, it is precisely the opposite; however, I really do want to make this blog a priority for my children and posterity. This program will end on Easter Sunday. I decided to ask my family if they wanted to participate and they did, so I studied the assigned scriptures earlier this morning and read them to the family right after. 1. Get up 15-30 minutes earlier than usual each day. (I am not actually going to do this 5:30 is as early as it gets on the week days. I may apply this to the weekends; however). 2. Generate the Spirit daily through humble, fervent prayer; through meditation; through pondering. 3. Organize your day and inclu...

To cut to the chase, I passed the Real Estate Licensing Exam today! Destry has a good job and earns a fair amount of money, but with five kids, a dog and a mortgage it only goes so far. We always have medical expenses, but have not had a car payment in years. I'm not sure we could afford one. We get by, we live frugally, but some months feel a little more stretched than others. With the kids getting older and all of them in school, I looked into getting a job myself; however, having been a stay at home mom for the past 16 years I was looking at entry level jobs, even with two degrees. I felt a bit discouraged for a while. And even with my kids in school, my working will take some teamwork and sacrifice from my family and I could not justify my time away from our home for $8.00 and hour. I would need to take some classes to get my teaching certificate, but I feel like I have been teaching for 16 years and I have about 16 to go to get these kids through, so I do not really w...

Today was a perfect Thanksgiving Eve day. The kids helped me to clean the house since we are hosting dinner tomorrow. I made two pies. The boys went on a 4-wheeler ride in the hills behind us. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. I am especially grateful that Taylor was able to go. Sarah played with her friend Lydia, pretty much all afternoon. Emma, Estelle and I went shopping. We bought each of the girls a pretty black and red dress. I bought a red sweater to wear with a black skirt I already own. We are going to be matchy, matchy on Sunday. Destry worked hard for us. He worked late last night hoping he could leave early tonight, but it didn't work out. We are all gathered around watching a movie with a few friends. This is what life is about and I am very grateful.

I am so glad I live where there are mountains. I love driving down the street outside my neighborhood and looking over at Mt. Timpanogos and Utah Lake. I love nature and the varied beauty that this earth offers each of us.

I am grateful for Family Home Evening. I am grateful for prophets who have encouraged church members to set Monday night aside from other activities in order to have quality family time. I love that my kids are old enough to have meaningful discussions. Poor Sarah has to put up with it, she is only 7. I love our activities and our traditions and rituals surrounding Monday nights. I have a feeling that watching the new episode of Studio C is going to become a regular part of our Monday nights. The kids and Destry really enjoy watching it and I really enjoy watching them watch it, so we are all happy. I am not perfect at many things, but I can proudly say that I guard my Monday nights for family time nearly perfectly. My kids enjoy it too, even the teenagers participate without complaint.

I am grateful that I live in a place where I can experience all four seasons. I love the feeling of renewal and rebirth that spring brings. I love the summer sun and that my kids are home. I love the colors and smells of autumn and the crisp morning air followed by the warm afternoons. I love winter for about a week. I doesn't feel like Christmas unless it is cold and the earth is blanketed in snow. Ok, I could do winter for maybe two months, December and January and in my Camelot that is all we have. I actually love change and the changing seasons revives me and gives me one more thing to look forward to.