Journalings of a Primary Teacher {8-25-13}

The kids in my class are totally, completely, 100% the CUTEST kids in the whole universe. 

When asking them how they would feel if Jesus put his hands on their heads to bless them, we got mostly answers like, "Happy, I guess," and "Um, good?"

Except for one boy. Who bluntly stated, "Honestly, I think I might faint."

LOLing.

Later on, we were discussing whether anyone in the class had ever felt a peaceful feeling after they prayed. One girl shared this fantastic story:

"Sooooo once upon a time we had to take one of my friends home at night after it was dark. We were so nervous, and scared, actually really scared, so we said a prayer, and then we like felt something inside, like this peaceful feeling....And we felt like we'd be safe. But we took a baseball bat just in case. And then everything was fine."

And in my husband's class, he was sharing the story of Joseph Smith rebuking the men for their language while he was in prison. After listening to hours of filthy language and even filthier deeds, Joseph Smith stood up and said, "Silence ye fiends of the infernal pit!....I will not live another minute and hear such language..."

Later on, Chris was sharing a story about how sometimes the people around him at work also use bad language and swear. One girl raised her hand and asked, "Well why don't you just say to them what Joseph Smith said? I'm sure that would shut them up."

Its good to have such pragmatism in the world. 

Journalings of a Primary Teacher {8-11-13}

Journaling has always been hard for me. Which is weird, because I'm an English major, which basically means I was writing ALL THE TIME. But for some reason, I never liked keeping a journal. 

When I was called as a primary teacher, I was very specifically advised to keep a journal. That's part of the reason I started blogging about my experiences in primary. And I'm glad I did, because I love going back and reading the hilarious antics of 7-year-olds, and one day, maybe when I'm trying to teach my own kids, I'll go back and remember all the things I learned. 

This week was just me and 7 kids. Was I a little nervous? Yes. Phew. More like A LOT nervous.

Like, nervous enough that I had a terrifying dream the night before that I showed up to a room full of 12 kids all throwing pens at each other and wildly screaming like jungle children. 

Thankfully.....real life was much, much better. 

I got to meet one of our students who had never come to church before. He's this sweet, quiet kid who looks like he has no idea what to do, and he has absolutely heart-melting blue eyes. At the end of class, each child got a 'faith rock,' on which they wrote the word 'faith' and then got to decorate with markers. This adorable boy wrote 'faith' on one side, and then came up to show me what he had written on the other side. It was 'giraffe.'

I have no idea how he got from 'faith' to 'giraffe, but I had to chuckle. He was just so proud that he knew how to spell 'giraffe.' I  get jumps like that all the time. I'll be teaching about the Holy Ghost, and one boy will raise his hand and say, "Did you know that killer whales EAT dolphins???!"

And I'm like, " Oh, how nice. So back to the lesson...."

And then a girl will pop up out of her seat and come right up to me in the middle of my next sentence, and say, "Um, did you know that, um, I have 4 cousins that are girls?"

There's a lot of pressure here to keep the lessons entertaining--- you can see why.

The other rocks were pretty great too. One girl wrote 'faith' in teeny-tiny letter on one little corner, and then furiously began scribbling with a blue marker all over the entire rock. Another boy wrote 'faith' on one side and then drew a snake on the other side {which I quickly learned was an asp-- like in the scriptures} {at least he's remembering something, right?}. But there was one especially that tugged on my heartstrings: One little girl came up to me to show me her rock, and pointed out to me that she'd even written 'faith' in brown! When I asked her why, she said, "Because faith is like a seed, and seeds are brown. See--- I even drew flowers growing out of the faith!"

The reason I brought 'faith rocks' was to help them internalize the story of the brother of Jared, who took clear stones to the Lord, and when the Lord touched them, they gave off light. The point I was trying to ingrain was that in the story, the brother of Jared had so much faith that he knew the Lord would make the rocks give off light. So you can kinda see how rocks and faith come together here. So after 50 minutes of teaching, telling stories, drawing pictures, and coloring rocks, I felt pretty confident that they'd absorbed at least the basic idea. 

Until we were out in the hallway, and a member of the bishopric happens to stop to visit. 

"So, what'd you guys learn about today?"

And I'm all like, come on kids....come onnnnn......

And one pipes up, "Faith!" And I'm secretly fist-pumping the air, thinking, they learned!

Then he asks, "So what do your rocks have to do with faith?"

And all 7 kids are staring at him, dead quiet, at least 4 of them with their mouths hanging open.

Face-palm.

At least it wasn't as bad as the time the kids all came out of the classroom throwing paper airplanes at each other.

 I can't even remember how that happened. 

Journalings of a Primary Teacher {7/14/13}

Did you know that, contrary to popular belief, the golden Moroni statue on top of the temples is not holding a trumpet, he's actually holding a tuba. 

{this fun fact is courtesy of an 8-year-old in my husband's class}

{instead of correcting her, he encouraged the idea of "Moroni and the tuba"}

{he cracks me up}

When you are trying to think of ways to serve, remember these three nice things you can do for people: {courtesy of the 7-year-olds in my class}

1. Give them an apple.

2. Help them collect rocks.

3. Turn on the light.

When guessing how old I am {my birthday's coming!}, remember that "eighty-ten" is a legitimate answer.

And lastly, if you are looking for ways to strengthen your family, remember this pragmatic answer from a 5-year-old:

EXERCISE!

Journalings of a Primary Teacher {5-12-13}

This Sunday was not the best of Sundays. Whenever holidays come around, all the kids seem to get antsy and twitchy and chattery and reeeeeeally hard to calm down. My only comfort is in seeing all the other classes acting just as bad as mine when we sit down in primary {sorry presidency....you've got it tough}.

My partner was out sick, so I snatched Chris to come sit in on my class. And man am I glad I had a second person there, because they were all. over. the. place.

If there is one thing I have learned from teaching Primary so far, its that you really can't base your teaching skills or self-esteem off of how your class is acting some weeks. Because honestly, they are going to be naughty. They are going to throw paper airplanes at each other. They are going to look at you with that know-it-all face and tell you exactly why they don't have to do something. They will tell you you're a bad teacher. They will threaten to tattle on your bad teaching skills to their mothers. They will loudly whine in sharing time because you didn't let them color.  

They will be kids. 

And sometimes I frantically bust out of church like I haven't breathed fresh air in years. Sometimes I just have to let out a big ole' sigh because I'm pretty sure they didn't absorb an iota of the lesson I just taught. But that's primary. That's learning to be a teacher. And the funny moments always overshadow the bad ones.

Like during a discussion on the bishop's storehouse when one boy pipes up and says, "I bet I could do some calculations to figure out the amounts!" 

And the girl next to him sassily says, "You're not old enough to calculate!"

Or when the sharing time leader asks if anyone has a mom who follows the commandments, and one boy stands up and anxiously says, "My mom is obedient! But she didn't want to raise her hand so I had to tell you." His mother, also his teacher, turned bright red.

Like the times when you tell one girl who has the hiccups to hold her breath to get rid of them, and it turns into a traffic jam in the hallway because all the other girls stop and want to hold their breath too.

{who knew it was so much fun?}

Or when you ask them to explain what 'enduring to the end' means, and one girl compares it to having to re-build her lego castle multiple times. "I just kept having to re-do it because it would break, but I never gave up! And that's like enduring to the end."

I'm learning to be {extraordinarily} patient. I'm learning to say no and not worry about how upset a child may be because they will promptly get over it in the next 5 minutes. I'm learning how to find the humor in everything. And I'm learning how to tie lego castles into teaching the gospel.

And I love it. 

Journalings of a Primary Teacher {5-5-13}

I know that my primary posts can seem sort of random at times, but honestly, they're mostly for me. I want to remember how funny and cute and sweet all my kids are, and how much I adore them!

As we were sitting in class, chatting with the kids who were there and waiting for the others to show up, one boy, out of the blue, shouts, "SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING!!!" 

My partner, while I was trying to stifle my laughter, teasingly asked, "Was it me? I say a lot of things." 

Sadly, we never figured out who it was that said something {bahaha!}. 

He wouldn't specify.

Our lesson was on the gold plates, and my partner was teaching. After explaining that Moroni hid them in the ground to keep them safe, she let the kids make their own 'gold plates' by using a popsicle stick to write on tin foil-wrapped cardboard. Then, we went outside to hide them, just like Moroni did.

You kinda had to see it for yourself, but just try and imagine the excitement....

One boy immediately runs over to a flower bed and starts digging a gigantic hole. Dirt flying everywhere. Another boy is repeatedly chucking his 'plates' at a tree, trying to get them to stick in the branches. One of the girls is trying to drag me along by the hand while begging to let her hide my plates too because she knows the best place. The other girl quickly runs off to hide hers, but upon returning, comes up to me with a panicked look and says, "I can't remember where I hid mine!" 

It was one seriously funny scene.

For the second hour I actually got to sit in on my husband's class. He introduced me as his wife, Sister Diepeveen. One girl quickly raises her hand and begins chattering on about how much she loves me. "I think Sister Diepeveen is the best! I am so glad she's here; I like her more than you!"

My husband, meaning to tease her about sucking up, replied, "I think you've got a little brown on your nose!"

Confused, she started rubbing her nose. "Really?"

A friend of hers quickly came to the rescue, standing up and putting her hands on her hips while loudly scolding us: "That's because she has freckles!!!"

Awww, primary love.

Journalings of a Primary Teacher {4-14-13}

I love hearing kids pray. They have no fear, no expectations, and no filter. Plus, they almost always say something completely adorable.

In primary today, the girl who got up to say the closing prayer just made me giggle. She started off with, "Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us be in primary today...." and then said, "Please bless us not to be rude. Bless us that we will be nice. Please bless us not to be rude..."

And then, realizing she'd just repeated herself, quickly stuttered out, "...ah....to our parents! Nameofjesuschristamen." 

And one of my most other favorite things in the world is when they mention us  in their prayers. 

Hearing, "Thank you that Sister Diepeveen and Sister Passey are our primary teachers" kinda just melts my heart.

Primary class for me really is just a giant circle of melting heart, saying 'no' to the same question ten times, pulling kids back into their chairs, and stifled giggling. This week I had a word search as part of my lesson, and it just cracked me up listening to them do it {because in our classroom, word searches are very loud}. 

From the two girls next to each other trying to secretively glance at each other's papers: 

"I found 'principle!'" 

"Well I found it too!" 

"I found 'gospel!'" 

"I FOUND 'GOSPEL!' ....where was it?"

From the boys: "I found the word 'ham.'"

"Look....it says TV!"

"'POO!' I found 'POO!'"

We are just so good at staying on topic.

And over in my husband's class, they are the kings and queens of metaphors. You might remember the "Joseph Smith had pedals" metaphor gone wrong from this post. This week, Chris decided to emphasize that Heavenly Father keeps His promises by saying, "For example, if Heavenly Father told you that if you jumped on your left leg 25 times He would give you a red Ferrari, do you think it would happen?"

This promptly caused excited left-leg jumping all over the classroom.

{Primary teacher high five!}

 

Journalings of a Primary Teacher {3-17-13}

Today I learned that:

• You should never let two girls who have both decided to draw rainbows sit next to each other. This will result in a rainbow-drawing war; including, "Mine is going to be in a pattern," "Mine has a waterfall!" and "Mine has more colors!" 

• Never question a 7-year-old's ability to entertain both themselves and you {often without meaning to}. For almost 3 whole minutes during class I watched one boy lick every inch of his left hand. For no apparent reason. 

• It is expected that you will feel happy while you are at church. When asked, "How is everyone doing today? Are you feeling pretty good?" by the singing time leader, one of my girls heaved a big ole' sigh, rolled her eyes, and said, "Duh. Of course everyone feels good today. We're in church aren't we?!"

Journalings of a Primary teacher {3-3-13}

Today I received: 

3 spontaneous hugs.

1 blond head laying in my lap.

1 "You're awesome!"

2 "Can I sit by you?"s 

1 hand-holding to lead me from class to sharing time

{so i wouldn't get lost}

{because that happens to primary teachers?}

1 journal display filled with hand-drawn pictures and adorably misspelled words

1 proud display of a homemade bookmark on which was written, 
"Noah's space where he is."

{in case he forgot what it was for}

2 actual memories of a lesson I taught

It was a beautiful day for a rainy Sunday.

Journalings of a Primary Teacher {2-24-13}

Kicks and giggles, that's what primary is made of.

While waiting for sharing time, I watched a little 2-year-old guy run as fast as he could down the hallway, closely followed by his dad. He promptly got scooped up upside-down, and as he was being carried off, he folded his little arms and voiced a big, "Aw maaaaaaaan!"

I couldn't help but bust up laughing.

~~~

One little guy in my class accidentally bit his lip in the middle of singing time. He tapped me on the shoulder with a, "Sis-er Diepeveen I think my lip is bleeding." I look over to discover he's smeared it all over his cheek, hands, and chair {yaaay}. I promptly grabbed some tissues and helped him clean up a little. As he's pressing one bloody tissue to his lip, a boy from the row behind leans over, all agog, and asks, "Is that blood and guts???!!"

~~~

We ended primary on a very good note. The small guy who said the closing prayer started with, "Dear Heavenly Father...." He then asked, "Please bless us that we won't ever lie. And bless us to do good things." And that was it; "Amen." 

So here's to a week where hopefully we won't lie, we will do good things, and we will always find the humor in the little things!

Journalings of a Primary Teacher {2-17-13}

Teacher: Does anyone know who Peter, James, and John were?

Kids: Yes! Apostles! 

Teacher: Do you know when they were apostles? During what time?

Kids: ....silence.....

Teacher: Anyone?

One brave girl: Umm...the 80's? 

{i had to cover up a gigantic snort of laughter at that point.}

Teacher: How can we talk to Jesus?

Kids: Prayer! Texting!

Wouldn't it be cool if we had Jesus' phone number?

We could text JESUS.

--goes on for several minutes--

Teacher, trying to regain some control: Ok, but, if your cell phone battery dies, you can't text. And guess what? You can always pray! 

One thoughtful boy: Well....yeah....I suppose prayer is better than texting.

{they should put that on a pillow or something.}

This next one happened over in my husband's class. Good to know his primary lessons are sometimes as hilarious as mine.

Chris: So, when Joseph Smith was first shown the plates, he couldn't have them. Do you know why?

Kids: Why???

Chris: Because he wasn't ready for them yet. 

Kids: ...confused looks....

Chris, trying to come up with a metaphor: Okay, so it's like driving a car. Do your parents let you drive?

Kids: No! Bahaha!

Chris: Well why not?

Kids: Because we're not old enough!

We're not allowed!

We can't reach the pedals!

Chris: Well, Joseph Smith couldn't "reach the pedals." He wasn't ready to receive the plates.

..lesson continues....

...lesson ends....

Chris: So, who can tell me what we learned today?

Kids, laughing hysterically: JOSEPH SMITH COULDN'T HAVE THE PLATES BECAUSE HE COULDN'T REACH THE PEDALS!!!!

{well played, Chris, well played. good luck getting them to forget that one.}

Love Week: Primary

Okay, for those of you who know me, this one is kinda obvious. 

I love my primary class.

They are hilarious, and smart, and funny, and sweet. 

And I learn a lot.

Sometimes they can get out of hand. Sometimes at the end of my lessons there are paper airplanes all over the floor and I swear they don't remember a word I said. 

But I can't help adoring them. Especially when one sweet girl runs over to hug me after primary and tells me she can't wait to see me again. Or when one little boy looks earnestly into my eyes and tells me he wishes he could be "a Shamu." Or when they want to sit by me, and touch my jewelry, and hold my binder for me. 

Seven-year-olds are the greatest things to ever happen to me. 

I love them more than I love almond kisses and chocolate ice cream and berry pie and cookie dough.

...which is a lot.

Adding Sleeves to a Tank Top

I was having a rather bad day yesterday, and when I have bad days....I become a {secret} spending addict.

No judging.



So ahem, yesterday was a bad day, and I ended up buying this top:

Because how could tiny bikes not make me feel better?!

It made me think of summer, which was both good and bad. Good because, well...DUH. It's SUMMER. And bad because summer is hot, and I don't like wearing a lot of layers. And because I'm LDS {check it out} I wear sleeves. And I really didn't want to cover up this cute tank with a cardigan {plus....hot.} So I decided to make sleeves.

Easier said than done. I searched madly all over the web and Pinterest for a tutorial on how to add sleeves to a tank top. There are a few out there: Cut off the sleeves from an old tee and sew them to the tank, or add long flutter-y sleeves also made from an old tee. Bleh. Nothing was what I wanted. 

And thus this tutorial was born. 

You need:

Matching fabric & coordinating thread

tank top

buttons {optional}

1. Fold your fabric in half. Measure from the top of your tank top to the bottom of the arm hole--this is how wide {top to bottom} your new sleeves should measure. Use another tee that you like the sleeves of to measure the length {shoulder to elbow}. Cut them out with seam allowance.

2. Cut out the "J" shape where the sleeve will attach to the tank top {forgot to take pics of this part}.

3. Sew the sleeve to the tank, right sides together. Then, sew down the length to close the sleeve {you could do this vice versa, but it worked better for me this way}.

4. Hem your sleeves to the desired length.

5. Attach button and strap if you want the gathered look.

And there you go, it's that easy. 

P.S. Don't judge me for my lack of real pants. 

Gratitude

I am a little bit of a gratitude junkie.

I love sayings that deal with being grateful, I love gratitude decor, and I genuinely try to appreciate all the little things instead of overlooking them.

For some reason an attitude of gratitude has always been important to me.

And right now, I am suuuuuuuper {super super} grateful.

Once upon a time, we were trying to move. But Chris wasn't having any luck with a job. 

So we waited, and waited, and spent a lot of time on our knees.

And then suddenly, in the matter of a single day, Chris found, applied for, and was offered a full-time position.

Now, I received a wonderful transfer opportunity for my job, which amazingly {again} happened all in the course of a single day. I get to keep my current position, they will hold the spot for me, and I won't have to re-train for a different type of store, because it's the same as the one I'm currently working in.

And we decided we would take a leap of faith and move at the end of the month, despite not having a place to move to.

But really, I'm not that worried. Because at the rate things have been falling into place for us, I know a good apartment in the right area is just around the corner. 

The Lord's timing may be hard to wait for sometimes, but when the time is right the blessings will come pouring down. 

And right now, my faith in His timing is stronger than ever.

I can't wait to see what He brings us next. :)

Forget Me Not

Yesterday I read this post  by a friend of mine. She asks the questions, "What am I? What makes me special?" 

It was a little crazy to read as she pondered her questions, because strangely enough I had been having some of the same doubts and fears as she did. 

{maybe we all go through the same things at the same time and just don't know it until one brave soul says something.}

You know in classrooms and church when everybody's being introduced, and they ask you to say one unique thing about yourself? 

Oh man do I hate those games. My mind always goes blank.

And afterward, I find myself complaining to Chris:

There's nothing special about me. I'm not unique. I'm not doing anything noticeable in the world. 

These thoughts tend to stick around.

This morning as I was making the bed, I decided to grab the book, "Forget Me Not" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf and thumb through it. 

Here is what I read:

God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect. 

Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others--usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths....As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does. 

....be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-not [flowers], these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss one of life's sweetest experiences.

And I realized, I have been so very caught up in what I'm not accomplishing, that I've missed the tiny flowers that have been blooming all over my life.

Man, did I feel stupid. 

President Uchtdorf compares the five petals of the forget-me-not to five things we should never forget. So, here are five small successes/blessings I will remember:

1. I was worthy enough to marry a strong priesthood leader in the temple. We are sealed for eternity--I know he will be a righteous influence for the rest of our lives, and preside over our family as such. 

2. Even though some days I feel as if I don't have a single friend to lean on {stupid college town--everyone moves away}, I guarantee that I could text one friend who is 300 miles away, and she would happily respond. And even if I felt awkward asking,  my sweet VT partner would be willing to help me in a heartbeat out if I ever needed it.  

3. As much as I worry about my hair not being up-to-date, or not knowing how to do it in the cute fashions I see everywhere, it still looks decent. I am complimented on it almost every week at work, and though I tend to discount that quite often, I must be doing something right. {seriously....i want cute hair.}

4. We live in a beautiful, spacious apartment where we are able to let our two cats run around. And if we haven't found a place up north yet, then it's because this is where we need to be right now. 

5. The Lord thinks we are doing all right. 

A little backstory for you-- a couple weeks ago, Chris & I were called in to meet with the stake president of a single's ward {yeah, we were thinking the same thing you are.}During the interview, he told us that Chris's name had come up. After we told him we would be willing to serve in whatever position Chris was called to, we also told him that we expected to be moving sometime this summer. He kindly nodded and closed the interview without extending a calling. He told us that if we felt that moving was what we needed to do, then the Lord would 'catch us some other time.' 

"Think of it like this," he told us. "The Lord knows that you have been living righteously. He's proud of what you're doing. And even if He isn't able to call you now, He'll call you to serve wherever you are, because He trusts you."

All in all, it kind of sounded like he was saying the Lord was giving us a thumbs-up. 

I hadn't been thinking of it like that, but it changed my perspective. 

We're trusted. He's proud of us.

Our successes are not small to Him.

I should be proud too.

Total Eclipse of the...Sun

Any of you catch the eclipse the other day?

It was awesome. We had a stellar viewpoint here down south.

With nothing much else to do on a Sunday afternoon, we packed our sunglasses, our camera, and our cat, and headed to the golf course to camp out for an hour and a half.

This is my most favorite picture.

And my second-favorite.

Did I mention that our cat is awesome? And that he comes when he's called?

This is right when the moon was smack in front of the sun.

Any excuse to kiss and take a picture.

Our two-year anniversary is coming up this month! I can't even tell you how excited I am to spend the weekend in St. George, in the sun, at a beautiful lake, with my most favorite person in the world.

A weekend getaway is exactly what we need. 

You know how when you grow up, sometimes life gets complicated with things? Things like wondering if you should buy a house? And where you should move? And which job your husband should take? 

Things like when is the right time and where is the right place and what is it that you're supposed to do when you get there?

Our lives are going to be changing, in a big way, in the next couple months. Yeah, it stresses me out a little. But we'll get through it. 

It makes me excited {and scared} like I've never been before.

It also makes me pray like I've never prayed before, and I know that He's watching out for us. 

That wherever we go, whatever we do, it'll be the right thing in the right place.

I just don't know when the heck we're gonna get there.

#143

Do you know which hymn that is?

It's the one that's been going through my head since this morning.

You still don't know?

Okay. It's "Did You Think To Pray?" 

And when I was humming it this morning, I figured something out {YESSSSS....I can be smart when I want to be}. Do you remember the phrase "Prayer will change the night to day?" Have you ever thought about what that means?

Because it's pretty amazing. 

1. Prayer will turn utter darkness into beautiful light. 

During struggles, during sadness, during pain....when we pray, He's promised us that He will be there. And when we look to our Father, He fills us with His light.

2. Prayer should always be the transition from waking up to starting your day. 

It's a literal connotation: Prayer will change the night to day. Before you begin your day, before you go out and do busy-like things, you should take that moment to acknowledge that your day is starting. Because the only reason you've made it from another night to another day is because He has something for you to do. 

Thank Him for that. 

Don't forget to pray.

Thankful Comes First

I haven't really posted much about Thanksgiving {because I was out enjoying it of course!} so I wanted to get in one 'Be Thankful' post before I start gushing about Christmas. {Christmas! *GASP* I'm so excited!}

The other day in R.S. one cute gal said something that stuck with me. 

"Thanksgiving comes before Christmas because you have to learn to be thankful for what you have  before you can get what you want."

And I, for one, am extremely grateful to have so much. 

We weren't able to go north for Thanksgiving this year because I had to work the day before and the day after {sigh...such is life}, so instead my family made the 300-mile trip down to spend the holiday at our house. 

1. I am grateful for family.

It was so much fun! It was us, my parents, my little brother, and my uncle and his fiance {who are by far some of my coolest relatives}. Chris deep-fried a turkey and helped me set up the table and all the chairs and clean the house. 

2. I am grateful to be eternally sealed to my super-sweet & awesome husband. 

Going back a few days, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving we have hosted for the past 3 years what we call our"Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner," which basically means we invite all of our friends over and eat lots and lots of food. {ahh....it makes me feel stuffed just thinking about it}. Everyone brings something--we did the turkey, someone else brought yams, someone else brought mashed potatoes...etc etc. And every year we do our Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner it reminds me how wonderful it is to be surrounded by the people you love {I suppose they could be using us for the free food....but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt}. One friend turned to me in the midst of our chaotic 28-people-full kitchen and said, "Jeez, you and Chris have a lot of friends!" 

3. I am grateful to have lasting friendships.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Our roomy apartment, our cats, our jobs, our working furnace, all our grandparents, fun neighbors, hot chocolate, great co-workers, movie theater popcorn....and the list goes on and on and on!

A recent talk in church focused on how we could add more gratitude to our lives. So even though it's after Thanksgiving, I'm still giving thanks. And I'm trying to remember to say thank you, even for the small stuff.

So don't forget: Blessings always show up--even on the bad days. 




And to end, in words stronger than mine, I quote:

"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike--and they will--you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see, riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed.


I close with this promise from heaven.


'Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;


'And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.'


'...I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, ...and mine angels [shall be] round about you, to bear you up.


'...The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.' (D&C 78:17-18; D&C 84:88; D&C 78:18)


Oh yes, 'we'll find the place which God for us prepared.' And on the way, 'we'll make the air with music ring, shout praises to our God and King; above the rest these words we'll tell--All is well! All is well!' "


--For Times of Trouble, by Jeffrey R. Holland

The Little Itty-Bitty Things

Being job-less sure does give a person time to reflect on what they do have. 

And to learn patience.

And faith.

And more patience.

But man do I ever not have patience.

Ya. Ugh.

Its been hard, but I do feel like there might be some things I'm supposed to learn.

Like patience (Get it yet? Ha!)

So I'm trying. And these are some little things I've appreciated along the way:

GORGEOUS graduation bouquet from Chris's parents!

The sweet little hummingbirds who so obligingly visit my feeder.

Strawberries....mmmmm.

Don't you just want to go out and get some for yourself?? 

(Go ahead. I'll wait.)

And lastly but definitely not leastly, let's not forget one of the smallest, yet most important things of all:

Faith.

"When we get discouraged we sometimes forget just how far our faith can take us."