Musings

Yesterday, my friends Amy and Marcie and little Zebadee (21 months) went to Amish country. Well, actually it is only about 30 minutes from here, it is a smaller settlement than farther north. Beth and I tried to go this summer and it never worked out. It was a fun day, everywhere we drove we heard these excited screams of cow and then a long moo, horse and a long naa, etc. We saw all kinds of animals and went into all kinds of Amish stores (attached to their homes). This set-up is much less than in PA where it was so very neat and orderly and also torist aimed. But we had a fun time and gave Christopher, Marcie's husband, a chance to get some much needed work done on a paper at home. Laundry anyone?

They need help with the plowing - any volunteers?

Then I came home and watched several movies. One is Martian Child, it was very well done. In essence it is about the challenges of adopting a child, not an infant a child, but in the end love won out and they were happy. The other is Mr. Mgorium's Wonder Emporium, Asia had recommended it on here blog so I checked it out. I liked it a lot, it was cute but also has a good message and is rated G -weird! My favorite line from the movie was "Your life is an occasion rise to it!" I like that saying - I think it is easy not do that.

In the Ensign this month President Monson talks about three things we should do, 1. learn from the past, 2. prepare for the future, and 3. live in the present. I thought the message from the movie helped me see how all three can work together -she Molly had to learn to do those things to keep the store and be happy. I know that the Lord blesses us with everything we need to do those three things we just have a tendency to over look those things. I was talking with one of my wonderful co-workers, Karen, about faith and answers to our prayers. It is really nice to be able to share faith inspiring stories with those of other faiths, it reminds me over and over how good people are.

Shelly received awesome news this weeks - CA finally put the adoption into motion - now all we have to do is wait on TX and pray for a open docket sometime between now and July so that we can all be there in Nauvoo and seal our Joy to us! It will be awesome - I just have faith that the Lord will allow it to happen - definitely a righteous desire. I am so happy for them.

Waiting for Comp Orals

Wow - I thought that studying for comps was bad - well waiting for orals is much worse. I was sent my answers so anyone that would like to read them and tell me if I actually answered the whole question for each one that would be great. There is still one part a question that I don't really know how to answer and I am not sure where to go for the answer. So this is miserable - I was of course reading through the graduate handbook and there is that line that says if you don't pass your orals than you are out of the program, well that made me feel so much better. I know that I need to just relax and try and figure out where the holes in my answers are but it is hard to read the answers and not get even more nervous. So there is my venting - it is really scary to be here and not know what is going to happen next. I sure hope everything works out, but all in all I know that I did my best and I can't do anything more at this point, except pray.

Day 2, San Diego, Easter

Well, for anyone that I haven't already told - it seems that day 2 of comps went as well as day 1. Now what that really means - who knows. I will be finding out the first week of April and until then I am teaching and just hanging out.

San Diego was wonderful. I will post picture when I get them from Mama. It was beautiful and lush and the weather was wonderful. We went to the zoo and to Legoland and both places were wonderful. I got to see Cyndi, Jeremy, Andrew, Jacob and Michael as well as Mama, Daddy, Nathan and Mandy. We had a ton of fun hanging out, going on fun rides and getting sunburned (mainly me).

We got to meet Kathy and Uncle Buzzy for the same time and really realize that we have very rich relatives somewhere. What an amazing house, the kitchen would make any chef jealous. All in all it was a great time and I am finding that I need a vacation from my vacation.

Yesterday, for Easter I went to Amy's house for Easter Brunch before church and then to church were we had a wonderful sacrament and then an awesome combined sharing time where we had 5 witnesses come and "testify" in court of the Savior. Peter, Thomas, Mary Magdalen, a Nephite woman and Joseph Smith all testified of the Living Christ. Music was interspersed and it was wonderful - the Spirit was very strong. The kids did great and it was enjoyable. Then later I went to my friends home Christopher and Marcie Bottoms and Amy joined us for dinner. We then "hid" 3 dozen colored eggs for Zebadee and helped her find them in hard places like the grass and the sidewalk. She was really cute and kept saying egg and then plopping the eggs in the container. She will be 2 in the middle of June so this is really her first fun Easter. All in all it was a great day and I enjoyed the opportunity to think about my personal witness that I know that the Savior lives and loves me.

Day 1

Well, it seems like day one went fairly well. It was a little scattered and no one seemed to know what they were doing, so that I would know what to do, but beyond that everything seemed to go fine. I really want to fix my questions already but it seems the time is past so I will move forward and hope that my recollection of what I wrote was good enough to move forward. I am excited to be able to move forward with the process of the degree so here goes nothing I guess. I think the hardest part was not having a mouse for the computer that has Word 2007 on it - which I hate because I can't figure out where anything is and when you only have 1.5 hours to write something finding something is not what you want to be doing - without a mouse spell check was miserable and it took what seemed like forever to find it on the new program. I wrote about a total of 14 pages give or take today - it went so incredibly fast.

I wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts - I could definitely feel the added strength as I wrote today. I won't be able to post for a couple of days so hopefully tomorrow goes as well as today! Now we just have to wait until April 3rd to here how I did. I hope it was good enough and that I pass. :) I will continue to pray for that.

Tomorrow I go to San Diego - yeah! I talked to Mama today and she said that Lego Land is awesome! I am so glad that they are having a fun time.

Noah?!

Well, I have been thinking a lot about Noah lately(those of you who know me well, know I love the story and collect the boats - strange I am sure). I think that it is a combination of many things - getting ready for comps, reading a certain talk, reading my scriptures and then the talks I have heard at church lately. So, the other day I was driving in the rain to work and I started having all of these thoughts in consecutive motion per say, that in Noah's day preparation for the boat was very literal, they built a boat, today what is our preparation, what boat am I building? So, I thought about a talk I had read that talked about having the faith to do what the Lord wants now and then actually doing it, like Noah did, even when we don't understand. I thought about how in many ways our boats are reading our scriptures, pondering, fasting, praying, attending the temple, fulfilling our callings willingly, serving out of pleasure and not out of obligation. I thought about the parable about the 10 virgins, knowing that they represent LDS members, those that know what to do and chose not to do until the very end. The scary part is that I probably am one of those 5 that waited on some things, I know I am not perfect and generally don't worry about that but, I think about what I can be perfect at now and then realize how far I have to go.
Recently, there was this talk in church, Brother Hainsworth (1st counselor in Bishopric) gave the talk, he talked about keeping our lives in tune with the Lords. He used the example of tunning a guitar and how if you tune it to itself then it will sound good by itself but if two guitars are tuned to themselves and then try and play together then it sounds awful! That you need to tune both to the piano key of E and then they sound wonderful together. He went on to talk about how we have to tune our lives to that which the Lord has asked, and that it doesn't work the other way. That we need to take our views and bend them to meet the Lord not the other way around. It was a very powerful talk - I am doing a lousy job of explaining it.
So, thinking about that talk lead me to Zion's Camp (I am rereading the Work and Glory series and that is where I just finished). So in Zion's Camp the Lord asked for 500 men to go and redeem Zion (Jackson County). So faithfully 2oo and something ended up there - not nearly what the Lord asked, many decided not to come and felt they didn't need to head the Lord command. Those that went felt like they were being obedient - they were literally walking, sacrificing time, talent and means, they left their families and livelihoods and for that they should be commended. BUT they had terrible attitudes, many of them, there was fighting and murmuring, they did not want to head what the prophet asked of them, all and all they begrudgingly followed the prophet and the Lord in the end, especially when it got hard. In the end the Lord revoked his command to redeem Zion until a time that the Saints were more willing and obedient. If you have noticed that hasn't happened again, not sure what that says about us. But what I was thinking about all of that is that they went but didn't have the right attitude, I do that sometimes - I will serve but not have my heart 100% in it, so is it really service.
Then I thought of people I know that have fallen away from the church for one reason or another. The sister I VT left because something was said about her family, Sharron has been struggling for a long time and even with help from her husband and people at church she has still stopped going to church. It makes me rethink all of my previous ideas and efforts in regards to the less active or inactive members of the church. It has become much more personal to me.

So, what does that have to do with Noah - everything I think. Am I ready and willing to follow the Lords will for me even when it is hard, Elizabeth is teaching me a lot about that right now, is my testimony centered on the rock of our Redeemer and Savior so that when the winds come, like in Helaman 5, I will be ready. Am I ready to do what he wants me to do, say what he wants me to say and be what he wants me to be? I don't know the answer to that but I do know that I am trying. Studying for comps and has me wonder about my study of the gospel. I feel like comps is one of the biggest tests of my life and I have studied harder than any other time in my life. But what does that say about me as a student of the gospel, isn't the test everyday? Well, I am sure you are tired of reading my ramblings. I am very excited that the test is on Monday and Tuesday and that it will be done - I hope and pray that I will not freeze up and that I will be able to perform well.

Daylight Savings Time

I think that my last post has been my favorite for the comments I have gotten (you should check them out), I am still waiting on Asia, Donna, Mama, and Suzan to comment (it is always interesting to hear from someone in construction about houses). To answer Cyndi's question of what the second picture is of, it is a home that I found when typed in "dream home" into Yahoo. I love the way the outside looks and it is actually a one story which I love, now it probably double what I want to spend but dreaming doesn't hurt anyone. It is really fun to dream - I think that it is a necessary part of life and maybe someday it will come true. All we have to do is be patient and work hard - at least that is what the American dream idea teaches us! :)

I hate daylight savings time in the Spring! I love the one in the Fall where I get to sleep for a whole other hour but, losing one throws my body off for what seems like weeks. Today I forgot and when I turned on my computer it was not 8:20 like I thought it was 9:20. Good thing that church is not until 11:30 (which by the way might be my least favorite time for church - especially in the primary and nursery). So, now for the next few days I have to fight off sleep all day long - I have no idea how one hour can be so hard on your body - I think whomever thought of this whole idea needs to be talked to severely and put in a very long time out.

I only have 1 week and a day until my big test. I think I am hitting panic mode because I feel like I know less now then I did a month ago. I am so worried that I will get on the test and freeze up - as most of you know test are not my strong suit but it is essay form so that should be better anyways. I just keep praying that my mind will be clear and that I will be able to remember what I have learned and be able to express that clearly on paper. I guess it will come down to what the questions are and how much I know about those ideas.

Dream Home?

What is your dream home like? I was talking to my friend Collin and we were talking about him buying a home and what that actually is. He of course is uncertain of what that consists of at this point and what it might be in the future. So, what do you buy today that will be what you want in the future. My friend Alexa is currently buying a house and is so it is very exciting for her.
What do I want? Collin said a front door would be nice and I agree. What would yours be? Big or little, two-story or one, 3 bedrooms or 4, how many baths? Would you want land or a nice little cul-de-sac?I would love to build a steal home on Mama and Daddy's land in Houston. I want it to be on the right side of the property over by the stream - there is a little cove among the trees. I want it to be one story with a large kitchen and I would love to have an enclosed porch on the back of the house. I want a guest bedroom, a craft room and a master bedroom that would be a office too. I want a big bathtub, because I love baths. I guess we will see what happens in the future.