Today on Easter Sunday I want to share with you the testimony I have of My Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that Christ walked on this earth, I know that through His atonement I can return to live with my Father in Heaven again. I know that Christ lead a perfect life and that He chose to do so for each and every one of His brothers and sisters. I know that He did so, not for His own glory but for the Glory of God. I know that through the Atonement I have the ability to repent of my sins and to be forgiven and that I may have any burdens I feel lifted from my shoulders, (Matthew 11:28-30). These things I can have if I choose to turn my heart to my savior. I can have these things if I pray to my Father in Heaven and talk with Him on a regular basis. Doing so I can feel the love that He has for me. I can feel of His spirit. I know that the Atonement is not only for my sins, but for my pain, hardships, & heartbreak. When I feel as if no one else can understand how I feel, I know that Jesus Christ knows exactly how I feel. I know that if I turn to Him, He can help me through those times with much more ease and peace and comfort than anyone could ever do alone. I know that through His Grace I will be able to return to God. Doctrine & Covenants 68:6 says, "Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear
record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God,
that I was, that I am, and that I am to come." I know that I have not been left alone on the earth. I have been given my family, my friends, the scriptures, the power of prayer, the priesthood, the Holy Ghost & the example of my brother & Savior Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ has risen. He suffered for our sins, he died for us & He was resurrected.
I am so grateful for the sacrifice that our Heavenly Father granted us when He gave us His son. When he watched Him suffer and could not help. The love that God has for each of His children is so strong. He wants us all to return to Him. I uploaded this video for you to watch from Thomas S. Monson, the prophet.
Here are great resources below to learn for yourselves and have the spirit with you in your home this Easter Sunday.
You can read the Bible and the Book of Mormon on your computer here, on lds.org. You can also look at mormon.org to have any questions answered that you might have about the church. If you are interested in FAmily History, go to familysearch.org. And if you would like to watch videos, go to mormonchannel.org
5. The Blog Sisters in Zion had this great idea for New Beginnings! The girls are so excited about it! Instead of the superbowl though since that is past, we are doing March Madness.The girlies are SO excited about it!
Hello Blog World. I am so excited about the news I am about to tell you!I have a new job! I can't even begin to describe to you how incredible and amazing this is. But before I get ahead of myself, let me start from the beginning.
Once upon a Time 4 years ago (Yes. I really meant the beginning), I was going to college and I needed a job in a very desperate way. I applied for every job I could on the job board in the TSC on my favorite campus (Utah State, of course). I found a job in Perry, over the mountain and through Sardine Canyon. I loved my job. I worked (and am still working) with a boy who has Autism doing ABA Therapy, or Applied Behavior Analysis.
I was also going to school and studying Speech & Language Pathology and loving everything that I could learn. Many people were surprised that I continued my education to earn my degree after I got married, but I knew that was my plan. My prayers were answered and I knew that finishing would bring my family and future little ones blessings.
However, as graduation approached and I was supposed to be taking the GRE, and getting ready to jump into the Master's Program to continue my education in Speech & Language Pathology, I wasn't. I felt very uneasy about it and as I prayed & prayed & prayed I knew that the Master's Program wasn't for me. I wanted it to be, I wanted to be accepted into the Program and prove that I knew what I was doing but the Lord had other plans. It was confusing because there is little you can do with a degree in Speech Language Pathology without your Master's Degree.
I graduated. I found a job at Spring Creek Middle School as a Life Skills aid. It was a great job but it wasn't quite what I had imagined myself doing and it wasn't stretching me, but I liked it. I started selling Scentsy. I kept myself busy and kept my options open applying for many new jobs each month, just so I wouldn't miss out on anything.
Then the family that I had worked for recommended me to some of their friends who also have a boy with Autism. And let me tell you, they must have been so very nice, because the new family asked me to work for them.
I had to interview at Utah Behavior Services to provide a paper trail and make sure I wanted to work for the company. It was a breeze because I already knew I had the job. By the end of the interview they were offering me more clients and asking me to quit my job at the Middle School. "What?!" I was so surprised, but completely excited. Because of the Utah Waiver Program (click on the link to learn more about it!) which just started there is a great need for me. Which is wonderful.
The next day I put in my two weeks notice. My last day at the middle school is the 26th. I will really miss the kids there.
But I am incredibly excited for this wonderful opportunity. A 'real' job! So enough about the miraculous trail to my getting here, let me tell you what this job has to offer.
1. Better pay. 2. I will get a gas card which will reimburse a little bit of my driving time. 3. I will be a professional. :) 4. I will have clients in Perry, Tremonton and Ogden. 5. If I take 4 classes. I will be able to become Board Certified. Which would equal more pay, and many more options, like insurance! (Can I just say that if I didn't have my bachelor's degree this would not be an option!) 6. They will help me pay for my classes & study for the tests! 7. I will be working with a team of lovely ladies. Thanks for reading all of my excitement, I hope you are not rolling your eyes at all of my explanation points. I have such a passion for ABA Therapy. I have seen it work and I am excited to influence lives and help families. I never would have been able to get on this life track by myself, Dalan and I have been very blessed for our hard work through the hand of our Lord. It has been so humbling to see things fall into place in such a wonderful and flawless way.
The weather has been terribly cold. The snow piles up. It turns a disgusting black and brown from the dirt. It makes my pants wet it I don't wear boots. My hands and feet are constantly cold. My bones ache. I stay inside. I have to leave to work early. The inversion is yucky. And there are still months left in this enduring winter process. To sum it up, I hate winter. Occasionally, I find a few good things about winter and I thought I would share.
My Friday Five has slowly disappeared. . . but this week I am bringing it back with a twist. This week I am sharing my Top 5 Wishlist slash all the things that I am saving for from least to most.
1. These white beautiful pitchers from Target. I seriously am obsessed with pitchers. My plan for these is to hang them on the wall from a hook in the kitchen and of course to use them too.
2. Flowers. Winter is so cold, and so white. Sometimes the white is very
pretty but look at what shoes I want . . . I need some COLOR :)
3. What I should do is post a picture of the running shoes that I use
and you might just feel bad enough for me to donate to this fund :)
totally kidding. But I really do need a new pair and I want them to be
bright :) Probably the pink or the turquoise!
4. There are two super cute end tables that I am eying at Hobby Lobby, I will have to decide by then which one I like best. I tried finding a picture but there is nothing I can find as cute. So you will just have to wait until I save up enough money to buy it :)
5. Blinds :) The privacy would be great! Not to mention I find myself squinting as I run around the house. The problem with the blinds is there are so many fun things I want to buy before blinds. . . oh well, I've waited this long :)
I know, I know . . . we just had Christmas and I got so much more than I deserved and everyone was so generous and kind, and thoughtful. But I am just documenting my list so I can save my pennies :) It feels good to work for something and spend a little on yourself every now and again!
It is a new year and I am excited for all the Scentsy Parties and orders!
So . . . as I begin to plan my year with Scentsy . . .
I have to share with you all of the great benefits of hosting a party!
1. You get to hang out with all your friends that you haven't seen in forever!
&
2. Your house will smell so so yummy & fresh & wintery or summery or romantic or manly . . . seriously, the only negative part of hosting a party will be deciding what you want!
&
3. You get freestuff!
For example . . . look at all of the goodies that my sister-in-law Mandi got when she hosted a party!
4 Scentsy Buddies
2 Scentsy Bars
1 New Scentsy Warmer
1 New Scentsy Nativity Cover for the Holidays
2 Scentsy Packs
It is so fun to see the orders and the free stuff that comes in for you guys!
I can't wait to visit with you and make lots of new friends!
Let me know if you are interested, maybe I will even bring the treats! (and I have some great treats!)
P.s. Another bonus! Scentsy is offering double your half-price rewards when you host a party in January!
PLUS . . . Bring Back My Bar is going on, so if you have an old love, hurry over!
I was blog stalking today and I stumbled upon a little phrase that hit me by Stephanie Nielson from the Nie Nie Dialogues.
Here is a beautiful picture of Winter on the Ranch
She said, "Whatever happens this year will happen, its how I deal with it that matters."
I have high hopes for this year, 2013, but I also know that it won't be perfect. This is good to remember as the first couple days of this year have been like a roller coaster of good and bad. Despite the bad I know that my Father in Heaven loves me. I know that my Savior knows how I feel. I know that he is on my side. I also know that I have the best family. And the best husband. He has taken care of me through some rough times and he deserves lots of credit.
So, here's to a year of good things and happy thoughts and strength through my trials.
P.s. If you get a second check out her blog & if you have a even a second longer read her book! It is wonderful.
I am a huge advocate of New Year's Resolutions. I love making lists and I love organizing my life. Not that it works out how I plan it, but you have to work towards something. Lately I hear so much about how people won't make them because they don't want to fail. I really don't look at it like that. I don't put that much pressure on myself and I actually do them more then once throughout my year, I know, I am a huge dork :) That way when a goal goes off the board I can make changes and add it back to my list for another re-start. This year I am totally looking forward to a fresh start. Many of you know that this has been a rough year for us, those of you that are closer know just how tough of a year it has been. I am working (note the word working, this is not easy) on making sure I remember all the fun things and great times we had this year and to be positive. So here is my list of Resolutions.
1. Be happy in the now. Marjorie Pay Hinckley has a great quote that hangs on my mirror that says, "The trick is to enjoy life. Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead." I found it on Pinterest, here is the printable, nice and simple.
2. Exercise! I seriously don't know why I don't do this more often. I love when I exercise! I just need to keep finding fun ways to trick my mind to get it done!
3. Drink lots of water. I have been working on this a little this year already, but I need another kick start to remember to fill up my water bottles! When I drink more water my skin looks so much better! Again, why don't I just do this?!
4. Be me!
5. Cook and plan meals. Some weeks I am so great at this and some weeks I am not ha ha. But I love when I am prepared and can have a good meal for Dalan when he comes home.
6. Plan some Scentsy Parties! Any takers!? (see how I snuck that in there)
Christmas went by like a whirl wind. And today is New Year's Eve. I just can't believe it. I am excited to start a new year!
To summarize our Christmas Break . . .
Dalan and I went to Temple Square with his family. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect.
We exchanged gifts, we went bowling and we hung out together. Dalan's WHOLE family was able to share the holiday together.
But my favorite was Christmas morning with Dalan.
Christmas Day Dalan fed the steers at 5:00 and I tried to go back to sleep but I was too excited for Dalan's present. Instead I went to grab his Christmas present. I put a big bow around his neck and we played as we waited for a couple hours for Dalan to hurry back home. Meet our newest addition to our family, Tip. Dalan had been eying this pup for weeks and I finally broke and I bought it. When he saw that it was sold he was so sad, and I wanted to give away my secret that second. But virtual high five for me, I didn't! I waited a week before I picked him up and then he hid out at our awesome neighbor's house (Thanks again for dogsitting and being so good at it!).
Dalan was really surprised to find his pup in our kitchen when he got home :) It was such a fun morning! Here are pictures of Dalan and his new right hand man.
We were able to go to Kuna to visit my family for a very short but very full and fun trip. I am so happy I was able to hang out with my family and give them their gifts!
My favorite things about Christmas is getting everyone gifts, if we could afford it I would get something for everyone I know. Equally (if not more) I love wrapping presents. I love picking out the paper and the tags. I love making things look pretty. I am reluctantly taking down the Christmas decorations today.
And today is New Year's Eve! What?! How did this happen? I haven't planned anything yet . . . Any ideas?
I am currently working on my New Years Resolution list. I just love lists.
