GIVE THANKS!

If we are commanded to give thanks and it is a requirement to be made whole then what action do we take? What do we do? In last year’s October Conference, President Eyring said, “I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.” President Eyring said that this act of daily remembrance, of thanks-giving, builds not only gratitude, but testimony. Gratitude is at the core of testimony. When we stand to bear testimony, we say, “I am thankful for…”

I have been thinking and thinking about something to write about that is worth while here on my blog. As I have been pondering it finally came to me.. write about something I know... Well, those that know me well know how much I LOVE this time of year. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching and Christmas not far behind, I thought it would be good to write tips and ideas down. So, two things; 1- I want to write down 7 things that I am Thankful for.... & 2 I want to write 5 tips for the wk. Each week there will be 5 new tips to help survive the Holiday Season and be happy, healthy, and not stressed out!

I am thankful for:

1-My family, my kids and husband are wonderful, serving them each day helps me love them more.

2-Our jobs, they provide us with enough to provided for our family as well as serve those around us that might be in need.

3- Our second family's: cousins, parents, grandparents and siblings to Aaron and I. They give support and lend a hand when needed.

4-Our friends, those close and far away, the time they spend serving my family is awe inspiring.

5-A home, even though we still have yet to buy a home ( which hopefully will happen soon ) where we are living is good, clean, and nice enough, we definetly don't live in a dump.

6-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, that provides us with organizations that enrich, uplift, and inspire our lifes to be better each day.

7-Last but certainly not least, my savior and redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who suffer bled and die for me, so that I can one day return to live with him. The sacrifice he made for me is a gift that I will always treasure.

Ok so on the the holiday help line:

1- Plan ahead. Planning ahead of time is age old, knowing what you will be doing for the holiday's is important. Making a schedual, can help ease the burden especially if you have young children. It will help them being happy instead of non stop crying during the turkey dinner!

2-Plan food ahead of time; this just doesn't include whose bringing what to turkey dinner but it also includes making it to the store long before the night before and doing battle with all the other nuts out there that didn't plan ahead. Trust me when I say, shop at least a wk prior if you can.

3-Plan your time, what time will dinner be at? How long will dinner and festivities last? This is key that you don't wear out your welcome but also that your children (if you have them) can keep to a more normal schedual., and that will make your entire day easier.

4-Plan out a route, if you are traveling, also make a route B in case weather is a factor.

5-Be on time! No body likes late Larry who shows up just in the nik of time to sit down and eat, and has forgotten his dish that he was supposed to bring. Moral of the story, be on time and be prepared and the rest should run fairly smooth.

Hope this is helpful, I have found that in years past when I run around scrambling to get things done that the holiday's are not as much fun! I think after 6 years of mariage that I finally have it down to an art. I hope!

Veteran's Day

In lou of veteran's day this year I decided to shared something very dear to my heart. When Aaron and I decided to get married in November of 2002, we had no idea that when we set our wedding date for Feb of the following year that he would get deployed six days after our wedding. I still remember the day that he left, I remember going to the armoury and feeling sorry for myself ( here I was newly married and my hubby of six days was going to war, what if he didn't make it back home?) well I got there and what an eye opening experience it was for me. When I left I didn't feel so bad I felt lucky. It was just me he was leaving. You see when a soldier gets deployed, every family has its stories. Whether someone is pregnant with their first baby or their third.. which children understand what the dads or moms are going out to do, I even had a very close friend who was very sick with cancer when our husband left. So I felt very fortunate that our family and friends were close by and I would be able to make do for a year till they got back.

That following sept... Aaron's unit got extended... there orders were now 365 boots on ground which in the military world means that since they spent 2 and half months in Fort Lewis Washington ( training) that their year long deployment didn't really start until they got over there. We dealt ok with that blow. The second blow came when they were about to come home. They had done their time, were packed up and ready to come home and waiting in Kuwait. About that time some real fighting began to happen over there, and they recieved orders that they would be going back in. I still remember that phone call as if it were yesterday. Aaron sounded so down, and all I could think was he's kidding.. in a second he will perk up and be like "just kidding! " But he didn't. I was so upset and began to cry..." why ?" was all I could choke out. I just didn't understand. Aaron told me then that things would be ok. Making the phone calls to the family were really hard. I prayed alot that things would change and they could come home. A meeting was held a wk later and the General told all the families what he could.. tried to help aid some of our hurt. I had women that told me that they knew that they were coming home, even though the orders had said different. I tried to have faith that they would. Well a little more than two wks went by and they hadn't moved their troop and they then on a MIRACLE decided that they had done their time and it was their turn to come home. They did come home a few weeks later. I stand by the fact that the Lord does hear and answer our prayers, he does show us miracles. I greatly appreciate all the troops that protect our freedoms. The sacrifces that not only the soldiers make but their family's to, is something that is truly a gift. I know that the sacrifice that we made at the begining of our marriage was hard, very hard in fact. But it was worth it. Our freedom to choose in this country is always worth fighting for. God Bless America!

The above photo is an article about us when their unit left... and yes its the day they left!

BaCk To WoRk OffiCiaLLy!

Well its about TIME! We finally opened our new store in the mall. I am now officially back to work. I am working 2 days a week... Thursday nights as that is one of the only nights Aaron is home from school/work before late evening. And Saturdays! which my shift kinda varies! Needless to say I am enjoying working again even though I am still doing lots of hair from home. So this is a pic of almost all of us working there.. yet we only have 6 stations in our new store.. it makes things a little more complicated.. but so far its working out ok. I think if I were working more it would really bother me. But I guess since working for Mastercuts is only a temporary things till we get a house and put my salon in it will do for now. The girls that I work with I love dearly. We are all such good friends. And that is rare to find in a salon... let alone one with ten women working there. I am truly blessed to know each one of these girls... all different in sooo many ways. My favorite part of this picture is the fact that this is the day before we opened our store.. notice there are no pictures in the frames.. well they came a day late. Lol!