More Happy Things

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1.  Daylight Savings Time:  Yes, I know that I often moan and groan about getting up in the dark in the mornings, but really truly, I am happy that we have more daylight in the evenings now.  Yes, the days are getting longer and eventually we will be enjoying the long spring and summer days, but it has been nice to do a bit of shopping or working in the garden after work this week before it gets dark.

2.  Warmer weather:  Maybe we are done with winter?  Here in our neck of the woods we have hardly had any winter or snow at all yet, so I'm reluctant to say that we're done with winter, but if this week's weather is any indication, we may just be well on our way into spring.  Hopefully we will get more of our needed moisture in the next few months, but perhaps it can still be warm and not freezing cold and snow?

3.  Things are starting to grow:  We now have some baby yellow daffodils and some pretty white hyacinths in the front yard.   There are buds on the trees and the strawberries and onions are starting to green up.

4.  I was able to plant seeds today!  I thought that my seed supply was all used up.  I have been doing some window shopping in the seed sections of the stores the past week or so, but the budget hasn't allowed me to make any purchases yet.  But the weather was so nice this afternoon that I looked through my old seed packets and found some spinach and lettuce and green onions left  from last year.  I dug up one of my small plots and planted away.  I also found in the neglected garden patch some basil and marigolds from last year and planted some starts indoors in some potting soil from last summer's flower pots.  There was also a package of Big Max Pumpkin seeds that hadn't been used, so several pots of those were started too.

5.  Free Lunch:  Last week I went to a few meetings at my work.  On two days the meetings included a free box lunch!

6.   DD2 Fixed Dinner tonight:  Delicious pasta with veggies and chicken and Pesto.  Delicious dinners prepared by others are the best! She even cleaned up the dishes!

7. I've found some time to read.  I don't have any library books out right now, but a week ago I pulled out one of my old favorite reads from my childhood/teenage years:  The Family Nobody Wanted by Helen Doss.   I read this book many many times, and then my kids read it too.  My original paperback copy (like the 2nd image above)  eventually wore out, and DD2 gifted me a new copy (the top image above) several years ago.  It has always been one of my favorite fun reads.

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8.  It's National Sister's Week! (This links to information about National Catholic Sisters Week, started in 2014 as part of National Women's History month, but I like the idea of also celebrating my wonderful biological sisters too!)  I have three of the most amazing sisters in the world.  Our dear Mother has not been well for the past few months, and my dear sisters have been taking turns staying with my parents around the clock, leaving their own families and jobs and other normal activities in order to care for and pamper our dear sweet Mother who has spent so many years of her own life in the service of others.

Yes, things have been a bit stressful around these parts lately, but life is still good.  For everything there is to complain about, we can also find a blessing and something to smile and be happy about!

Count Your Blessings

Text: Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1856-1922

Music: Edwin O. Excell, 1851-1921

1. When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed,
   When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
   Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
   And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
2. (Chorus)
   Count your blessings;
   Name them one by one.
   Count your blessings;
   See what God hath done.
   Count your blessings;
   Name them one by one.
   Count your many blessings;
   See what God hath done.
3. Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
   Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
   Count your many blessings; ev'ry doubt will fly,
   And you will be singing as the days go by.
4. When you look at others with their lands and gold,
   Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
   Count your many blessings; money cannot buy
   Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.
5. So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
   Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
   Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
   Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.
6. Text: Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1856-1922
   Music: Edwin O. Excell, 1851-1921

WINT O GREEN LIFESAVERS MINTS

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I've developed a fairly recent love for Wint O Green Lifesavers Mints.  Sure, I've always enjoyed a good lifesaver. As a kid I preferred the fruity ones, like cherry or lime or lemon, but I don't think I ever turned down a mint lifesaver either.  And it was always fun to try and get them to spark as you crunched in the dark, right?   I've always actually preferred chocolate when it comes to sweet treats or candy, and I will usually choose a chocolate candy bar over a roll of lifesavers if given the choice.  But lifesavers are a convenient, inexpensive, easily stored and easily portable source of a quick sugar fix.  And Wint O green lifesavers have the added bonus of being an effective breath mint too!  Now days I like to have them in my purse, on my desk at work, and in a bowl on the kitchen table.

I've discovered another use for Wint O Green Lifesavers Mints:  I use them as a tasty visual aid in teaching lessons about the Prophet Lehi's dream of the Tree of Life as found in The Book of Mormon.   In this dream, or vision, the prophet Lehi was led by a heavenly messenger through a dark and dreary waste to a beautiful white tree laden with delicious brilliant white fruit which proved to be very satisfying to his soul.  The tree laden with fruit was  a representation of the love of God.  A narrow path to the tree through the dark and dreary waste ran alongside river of water.  Between the river bank and the path was a rod of iron (representing the gospel of Jesus Christ) which was there to safeguard the travelers from falling off the narrow path into the river or wandering off the path into the darkness.

When I teach this scripture story, I like to prepare a visual aid of a tree representing the Tree of Life, and on this tree I attach an abundance of individually wrapped Wint O Green Lifesavers Mints to represent the exceedingly beautiful, white, and deliciously sweet fruit of the Tree of Life.  Class members then take turns following a narrow path holding on to a rod or a rope to the tree where they can partake of the delicious "fruit" that represents the Love of God.

Most children and youth that I share this lesson with appreciate the visual aid and the delicious white treat of a Wint O Green lifesaver.  I'm grateful that I can share my knowledge of the story with them, and hopefully strengthen their belief in our Savior Jesus Christ and the precious gift His atonement and His love for all mankind.

I'm also grateful whenever I can share a delicious Wint O green lifesaver with someone else!

(For a more comprehensive explanation of this story you may want to read The Iron Rod, April 1971 General Conference Address by Harold B. Lee .)

Happy Things

So here are some of my Happy Things for the week:

My dear sister came from out of state to visit my dear parents, and I got to see her on Saturday!
I found a Kit Kat from my Christmas stocking that I didn't remember I still had!
DD3 taught me how to do emojis on facebook chat!
DD4 wrote a blog post!
The weather has been warm and I haven't had to scrape the car windows in the mornings!
One of "my"  former Laurel's  wore her YW Camp hoodie to Relief Society last night . . . and said it's one of her favs!
We had cookies and cocoa at Relief Society last night!
We have family reunion plans!
I finished up the most recent edition of our family newsletter and copies are now in the mail!
I reserved a family names for temple work on Family Tree on Family search!

I'm sure that there are more . . .  but what are your Happy Things for the week?

Why Do I Blog?

With the recent opening of the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge list, I have felt a need to share with all of my loyal and possibly new readers some of the reasons why I blog.  When I first decided to venture into the world of blogging back in September 2007,  I really didn't know exactly what I had in mind other than trying to discover what blogging was all about; hence the original name of this blog:  Random Thoughts. I decided to occasionally post a few random thoughts just to see what transpired.

A few weeks later in October of 2007 Elder Henry B Eyring, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gave a talk in General Conference  that really hit me hard as something that I should be doing in my life.   (You can read or watch and listen to the talk Oh Remember, Remember, right here).

The talk basically tells about how Elder Eyring one day decided when his children were small that he should be recording each day the ways he observed the Lord blessing the lives of his family.  He wrote down a few lines every day, never missing a day.  His gratitude for his blessings grew, as did his testimony.  He made copies of the record for his children, which strengthened their gratitude and testimonies.

 I have kept some sort of a diary or journal ever since I was quite young, starting out with a little five year diary with space for me to write  five or so lines every day.  (It even had a lock and key!)  During my teenage and young adult years I wrote in my journal almost daily, and usually at some length. There were many details of the ups and downs of school and social life and faith and hopes and dreams, and yes, of course, of BOYS.  Eventually DH and I met and married, and my life settled down a bit.

As a young mother I found that many of my journal entries were becoming rather negative and whiny, and I stopped taking the time to write every day.  I also  was becoming more and more accustomed to having ready access to computers, and writing by hand in journals was time consuming . . .  and it made my hand hurt!!  At some point I realized that Random Thoughts  would perhaps be a good venue for recording the daily blessings or tender mercies that  I recognize in my life.   It was at then that I changed the name of my blog from "Random Thoughts" to "Random Thoughts and Tender Mercies" and the blog has pretty much become my main "journal".

It has been over seven years since I first heard Elder Eyring's talk, but I am often reminded of it, and my desire and intent is to do the same.  I sometimes do well at recording my blessings, and other times slack off. My own father has been a wonderful example to me and others of keeping a daily journal or record of his life, and also of writing and sharing his experiences and thoughts with his family on a regular weekly basis, and has often encouraged us to do the same.  Both he and my mother have written their own life stories and continue to add to them and to write regularly to their children.

Random Thoughts and Tender Mercies is somewhat of a personal blog.  I never intended for it to be totally private, but I never really intended to advertise what I write here either.  I'm a rather private person, and don't enjoy being the center of attention.  But as time passed, I discovered more blogs and bloggers, and blogging challenges.  There were writers, and readers, and authors, and quilters, and crafters and mommy bloggers.  I have always loved to read, and I kept discovering more and more favorite bloggers to follow and read.

 I have also always liked to write, especially since access to computers has made the process less tiring for me.  Eventually I realized that I wanted to expand a bit and sometimes blog about other topics, join some writing and blogging challenges, meet and share with other bloggers, and even write a bit about other topics that I would be more comfortable sharing with the blogging world.  I still wanted to keep my focus on gratitude at Random Thoughts and Tender Mercies, so in 2011 I began another blog, Creation and Compassion.  Over there I  blog about ways that I try to be creative and I sometimes  share opportunities that I find to help myself and others become more compassionate.  The name of this blog was inspired by another talk by another Apostle, Happiness, Your Heritage  by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

So there you have it:  a rather long explanation of why I blog.  I don't blog every single day, but I still try to find time to read and write on a regular basis.  Take a look, if you like what you see, come on back and visit again another day!

Light and Sunshine

While walking in the early morning pre-sunrise light this morning  (8:00 am in these parts at this time of the year), I was reminded of my profound gratitude for light and sunshine, and for that celestial orb that we call the Sun.  The light was reflecting pinkishly off of the snow covered mountain peaks  to the west.  It was a beautiful sight, and if I had not been in a hurry I might have taken the time to take a photo to remember it by. I was also able to take a quick ten minute stroll this afternoon during my lunch break during which I again enjoyed the sunshine provided by the star located closest to our planet earth.  Again this evening I was able to walk for a few minutes in the fading light of the late afternoon.  During this time of year, the sunlight is indeed a comfort and a solace to me, a balm to my Gilead.  It is a promise of warmer days and the coming of spring and the eternal round of the seasons.

Yes, once again I proclaim to all . . . I'm very grateful for Light and Sunshine!!

Try a Little Harder

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Back on January 1st of 2014 I listed a few of the things I wanted to work towards during the year and posted them on my blog Creation and Compassion:

Temple – Attend more often, weekly if possible
Quilting – Finish the quilts I have started
Promptness -- Get to work and church meetings early and on time
Order – Sort, organize, and dispose of our stuff and clutter
Save and Prepare -- Money and food storage
Service and Love -- Work, church, community, parents, and family
Scriptures and Prayers – Keep on keeping on
Family – Support them in being successful and healthy and happy
Writing - Finish the draft of my book

So, how did I do?  Well, I didn't set up a very good system for tracking myself, and I really didn't do much reflecting on New Year's Eve or New Year's day . . . but . . . here are some of the ways I want to try a little harder to be a little more creative and a little more compassionate:

Temple - I think I was able to attend at least once a month.  I may have missed a month or two, but some months I was able to attend more than once.  Working full time has put a bit of a damper on this activity, but this year I will try a little harder.  My goal is to find a nice little book to keep track of my temple attendance and combine all of my notes from past journals and notebooks where I have written down names that I have performed ordinances for.  I know it will be incomplete, but it will be somewhat of a record.   I also plan to spend time organizing some of the many years of family history research notes of my dear mother, and hopefully finding some names to submit for temple work to be done.

Quilting - I don't think I sewed on a quilt once all year.  I did save a lot of photos of quilts for inspiration though!  This year?  Perhaps.  We will see.

Promptness - This is still a tough one for me.  I do pretty good for a while, and then I keep falling back on it.  I will try a little harder to be on time every single day!

Order - This is another tough one made harder by working full time and trying to take a class or two.  I need to put Flylady and her missions and habits a bit higher on my list of priorities.  This month's habit is to shine your sink every night and this week's missions are all in Zone 2, the kitchen.  De-cluttering for 15 minutes a day all year should really help make a difference!

Save and Prepare - Another hard one since any raises always seem to be eaten up by increases in health care or car payments or other expenses.  And our budget is pretty much bare bones.  We will do a little better at saving a little bit each pay check and adding a bit more to the pantry each week.

Service and Love - I was able to find the time to visit with a neighbor or two and help with some packing and cleaning projects.  This coming year I especially want to spend more time with my dear parents and my dear Mother in Law.  I will try to do a little better than we have done in the past.

Scriptures and Prayers - keep on keeping on.  Daily prayer several times a day is pretty much a given. I rely on it every single day.  Daily scriptures often yes, sometimes no.  I will keep trying to do a little better.

Family - I'm very proud of my family, especially my children.  They have each been able to accomplish good things this past year.  Hopefully I am being a support and help to them in some small way.  I love and appreciate and admire each of them so much, and will continue to think of them and pray for each of them every single day.

Writing - I did join a local little writing group this year and have earnestly begun a new draft of my book which I share with the others in my group as I go.  I will try a little harder to write a little more and make a sensible, readable manuscript this year.

Gratitude -  I count 73 gratitude posts that I have posted on this blog this past year.  I can do better I know.  I can also do better at sending notes and letters and words of gratitude to the many friends and loved ones who always do so much for me and for my family.  I am blessed.

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Favorite Traditions and Favorite Presents

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Yep.  Christmas is over for another year.  It has been a good one with time spent with family, and friends, presents and favorite traditions.  As I am blessed to be working in the education field, I still have a few more days of vacation to enjoy at home with my dear daughters, and hopefully a bit of time with DS1 who was also here on Christmas Day. 

December was a bit hectic this year, but filled with good things.  DH and I were blessed with a long weekend trip at the first of the month to visit DS2 and his wife and to meet Dear Grandson 1, who we hope to legally welcome into our family when his adoption is finalized in a few more months.  (Thank you DS1 for the wonderful birthday gift!!).  The weather was almost perfect, and our hosts and DGS1 were even more perfect.  We visited, saw a few sights, met up with my dear sister and her family, did a bit of shopping, enjoyed some great meals, and just got to know little DGS1!  

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were fewer than usual this year, and my shopping and other Christmas preparations were put off for even longer than usual, but DH and I spent one nice weekend together enjoying his company party, doing some shopping for gifts, and then enjoying another wonderful birthday gift from DD3:  tickets to a Christmas Concert performed by The Piano Guys.  If you haven't heard them, you need to.  You're in for a treat!

After that wonderful weekend, things really got hectic with work and final Christmas preparations.  Children started arriving home for the holiday, I had the chance to visit a good friend and neighbor who has been laid up for several weeks with a broken foot and help her do a bit of cleaning and organizing.  I was able to bake some goodies and deliver them to neighbors and friends, taking a few minutes to visit with people I don't often have the time to talk with.  I even was able to prepare a few cards to send in the mail (I still have more to complete and send out belatedly).

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Before we knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived.  There was a fast and furious shopping trip (or two, or three) for a few last odds and ends, and then I was on my way to my home town to retrieve my dear parents so they could spend Christmas Day with our family.  The kids helped clean and prepare more of our favorite Christmas treats, we had a fine turkey dinner on Christmas Eve and spent an hour or so singing favorite Christmas songs and reading the Christmas story from Luke 2 and from Matthew before hanging our stockings and sending everyone off to bed.  Christmas Day was full of gifts and more goodies, a bit of snow on the ground and on the roads, talking with DS2, DDIL and DGS1 via phone, a spiral sliced Ham and cheesy potato dinner and  and some long winter naps too.  Dear Mom and Dad are now back in their own home and their own beds, DH has seen a doctor for some cough medicine and other prescriptions to help with a mild case of pneumonia, DS1 has gone off to visit with friends, and we've had a nice get together with extended family with the requisite white elephant gift exchange and even more goodies.

It hasn't been a perfect Christmas (is there even such a thing???).  There has been illness and other challenges to face and the gifts were not extravagant, but to me it has been another wonderful Christmas.  I have enjoyed music, been able to give and share with others both with time and service and material gifts, I have had time and visits with family and loved ones, and I have had time and opportunity to reflect on the greatest gift of all:  The gift of the Son of God.