Sunday Sum-it-up and Gratitude

I am taking some time today to sum up a good week and weekend with many things to be grateful for.  

Our youngest grandson, who lives in Utah, turned three-years-old on Friday.  He is quite a character and we sure have fun whenever we are with him.   We only got to wish him happy birthday on the phone Friday, but we are excited that we will get to be with him in person before too long and I am very thankful for that.

Another birthday coming up this week for our youngest granddaughter, who lives in Maryland.  This is her at three months, which seems like it must have been last week.

She has grown into this sweet active little toddler and her grandma has no idea how time can go so fast! We are so thankful to have this little cutie in our family and wish her a very happy birthday!

This is our oldest granddaughter, who does not have a birthday this week, but who does have Juvenile Arthritis. Because of this serious disease, her young life has not always been healthy and happy so a picture of her smiling and active makes my heart thankful indeed.  

Charly made two different kinds of cookies Saturday afternoon and both were delicious. He pretty much held down the fort Saturday while I was in a class. He mopped all the floors in the house (which is a huge job because we have a lot of tile floors), took Josh for a re-take of his cap and gown graduation picture, went to the bank, went to the pool store and then cleaned the pool, fixed a broken part and made sure all of the chemicals were at the right levels.  I am so thankful for a husband who is always there doing what needs to be done for our family.

I am also thankful that I finished up yet another in-person class this morning, and here is my certificate of completion to prove it!  I now have only one lesson and one final project to complete in my online class and I will have finished my goal of 60 graduate hours beyond my master's degree and I should be eligible for a raise at work.  That will be another reason to be grateful!

I am thankful that I finished another book this weekend - Start Late, Finish Rich by David Bach.  This is the third book about personal finance that I have read in the past two months (I also read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Financial Peace Revisited). I have concluded that reading books will not make anyone rich, or financially secure, but working hard, keeping spending under control, staying out of debt and saving a lot will. I am now ready for some light, uplifting fiction, so am starting the classic Debbie Macomber Cedar Cove series with 16 Lighthouse Road. 

I mentioned that Charly cleaned the pool Saturday morning, which I am thankful for, but Saturday was a blustery day and some leaves and blossoms blew into the pool almost as soon as Charly cleaned it.

Even though the pool will need to be "scooped" again, I am thankful for the cooler temperatures.  Yesterday barely made it into the 70s but today is sunny and delightful in the low 80s.

It has been a good week overall, with more goodness to come next week as well because good things are always there when we look for them!

A thought to ponder in this week:

"You must extend to others what you want to receive.  It begins with you."

  --Susan Scott

A scripture for the new week:

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:  be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

         --Psalm 100:4-5

Thanks to Jamie Jo at Lord, Make Me a Saint for hosting this weekly link-up of gratitude.

Have a good one - be thankful and happy!

Mid Week

I am taking a few minutes out in the middle of a busy evening  to reflect on what is going right this week.

• We had a very nice, restful and relaxing weekend.  The Easter Bunny visited Josh one final time. ( We have been told that the Easter Bunny no longer comes once a person reaches 18). Here is Josh's Easter morning breakfast and his Easter Basket.  

• I finally finished this puzzle I have been working on for several weeks.  It's a picture of a beautiful stained glass window depicting some of Jesus' Apostles. It felt appropriate to finish it on Easter Weekend.

• I have now finished lesson 4 out of 5 in my online class. Only one lesson and the final project left.  The teacher of the class said that I could collaborate with a colleague of mine on the final project, so it will be nice to work with a friend instead of tearing my hair out trying to figure out the final project alone.

• I had a nice conversation with a good friend this afternoon.  We shared our burdens, laughed together, prayed for each other and came away uplifted.

• I had a nice walk with Charly tonight. The temperatures were a bit cooler today and there was a slight breeze blowing to further cool things off.  It was a pleasant time of walking and talking.

• Josh had a great, faith-filled activity with the some of the other boys at church and their leaders last night. The picture below shows some of the fun they had when they stopped in to visit a friend who had to work and couldn't come to the activity.  That's Josh, second from the right.

• I got to talk to both of my daughters and several of my grandchildren on Easter and I got these lovely Easter pictures of the grandchildren who live in Maryland.  We are sure looking forward to visiting them later this year!

Good things to come:

• Attending a get-to-know you dinner for the women at church tomorrow night.
• Finishing the final sessions of the in-person class I am taking this weekend.  I don't really enjoy attending class on the weekend, but it will sure be nice to have another one finished!
• Reading and relaxing for just a bit when I finish this post.

A scripture for the middle of the week:

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Good Friday Fave Five

Again, today I join with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to focus on the good things that happened to our family during the past week.

1. She said yes!!

In my last post, I told about Josh getting pulled over by a police officer.  What I didn't say was that at the time he was pulled over, he was in the middle of an important mission which was asking a special young lady he likes to the Spring Formal sponsored by our church and affectionately referred to as "Mormon Prom". Josh purchased a cheese pizza, which he delivered to her house (after getting pulled over) with the attached message "If this invitation isn't too cheesy, will you go to Mormon Prom with me?"  

Several days later, our door bell rang one evening and there was a pizza with her answer "Yes" spelled out in pepperonis.  I thought it was a cute way to ask and respond.  Josh is very happy and excited (if a little nervous), but I sure that he and his date will have a wonderful time!

2.  Making Progress!

A lot of my time this month, is being taken up with completing two graduate classes - one online class and one in person weekend class.  The good news this week is that I am at the half-way point in both of them and should be completely finished by the end of April.  

3.  Great Conversations!

My blogging friend, Faithe, at Gold in the Clouds mentioned in her Friday Fave Five post that it is a blessing to have a teenager who likes to hang out with and talk to mom.  I would have to second that.  Josh will be 18 years-old two months from today and he is such a nice guy and so pleasant to talk to.  He is willing to share his heart,  listen to what his mom and dad have to say and even take their advice!  That is a blessing indeed! 

4.  Youth Activity!

Tonight, Josh is out of town with the teens and youth leaders from church. They will all be participating in a Tri-Athlon (a biking, swimming and running race) tomorrow.   The Tri-Athlon has been an annual event for several years now and Josh has attended every year, but this may be his last time at the Tri-Athlon for a while.  I am so grateful for our church's wonderful youth program and leaders.  Josh has loved being part of the youth program and it has built his faith and character, kept him moving forward in life and helped him make good choices.  The leaders put forth countless hours totally free of charge to making a difference in the lives of the teens.  What a blessing this has been for all of my children! 

5.  An "Empty Nest" Weekend!

As much as I love Josh (and all four of my children) sometimes a weekend for two is so nice.  Charly and I are "empty nesters" until tomorrow night when Josh comes home.  We don't have anything really special planned but it is nice to be able to talk to and focus on each other.

Of course, the best thing about this week is that the most important thing that ever happened in the history of the world is celebrated this Sunday.  Please take two minutes and 44 seconds to watch this moving video that tells why Easter is so important to everyone!

Have a peaceful and blessed Easter!

Looking Back - Looking Ahead

My Friday Fave Five post has turned into a late Sunday evening reflection on what was not an easy week.  It was busy, exhausting, disappointing and filled with worry and anxiety. Even today, there were tears shed about some difficult situations that feel far from resolved.  I have reverted this week, back into my co-dependency habits of trying to"fix" everyone and everything while being "super-wife" and "super-mom" and I feel like I have failed miserably at everything.

While I try to get myself together enough to prepare for the week ahead, I know that, even in daily trials, there are good things - little tender mercies and blessings - in abundance, so tonight, I am going to take a few minutes to remember and be thankful for those good times this past week and gain strength to move forward. I will trust God for solutions to problems and move confidently into the future.

Here are a few of the good things that happened this week:

No Ticket!

Josh had his first experience with being pulled over by a police officer last Wednesday.  I was in the car with him when he made a left hand turn and saw a police car make a u-turn and pull up behind him.  He told me he thought he was going to get pulled over, but since I couldn't figure out what he had done wrong, I told him the cop was probably turning around for some other reason.  Mom is not always right, however, and no sooner were the words out of my mouth than the police lights were turned on and we were signaled to pull over.  Josh didn't know what to think, but pulled over as directed.  I told him to get out his license and hand it to the officer and I retrieved the car's registration and insurance card from the glove box.  Initially the policeman wasn't very nice - he came up to the car window and yelled "what do you think you're doing??" to Josh. Josh was now pale and had no idea what was going on.  I explained to the officer that Josh still had a learner's permit and asked what he had done. 

The officer looked at Josh and said "You can't drive after 8 p.m. with a learner's permit!"  I looked at my watch. It was only 7:45, which I very politely pointed out to the officer.  Then he told my son that he should have pulled over to the right side of the road.  Now I was really confused because we were on the RIGHT side of the road.  

Finally, the officer asked, "Do YOU know what you did?"  Josh just shook his head. Finally the officer calmed down a bit and told my son that he didn't have his lights on.  Sure enough, Josh had forgotten to turn his headlights on.  The officer then looked at me and said,"This insurance card has expired!"  Even though we have insurance, we had forgotten to put the new card in the car when we got it around Christmas time.  I apologized and assured the officer that it was an over sight and we do have insurance in force.  

He took the license and registration and went back to the police car to make sure we weren't criminals. After what seemed like an eternity, the officer returned to the car and sent us on our way with a verbal warning to always turn on the headlights and to replace the outdated insurance card.  We did not get a ticket. Since tickets can be expensive, this is really something to be grateful for this week.

Good Neighbors

Wednesday afternoon our doorbell rang and our next door neighbor was there with the unhappy news that my husband's car, a 1996 Corolla with over 250,000 miles,  was leaking gasoline, which was running down the driveway.  We are grateful that our neighbor noticed and came and told my husband about the problem, which could have been a real danger if he had tried to drive the car to work the next day.  As it was, we were able to get the car into the repair shop right before it closed, so the problem could be safely taken care of. 

Car Repairs

After we found out the car was leaking gas and got it to the repair shot, the repair shop manager informed us that because the car is so old, it might take three of four days to get a new gas tank.  This was not happy news since my husband uses that car to drive 25 miles to work each day.  A few hours later, however, a new gas tank was found in the local area and the repairs were completed by the next evening - leaving my husband without a car only one day.  The repair was fairly expensive, but still much cheaper than buying a new car right now.  This morning, when Charly and Josh went out to get in the same car to go to an early morning church meeting, the battery was dead.  A quick visit from the friendly AAA guy found that the battery was just fine and the problem was loose battery mounts.  It was a quick fix that cost nothing, and that is something to be thankful for as well.

Family News

We found out that Charly's uncle and aunt may be coming to Arizona for a visit in a week or two.  They have asked to stay with us while they are in town.  This was unexpected because Charly hasn't been close to this uncle and aunt for several years, but they are very nice, kind people and we are looking forward to renewing our relationship and becoming re-acquainted.

In other family news, Charly's mother seems to be doing better.  Her long-term prognosis remains the same, but she had visits from some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren last week and really seemed to enjoy the mini-family reunion.  We are thankful that she is finding some happy moments in her life and that her grandchildren can come and spend some time with her.

Job Opportunity

Charly was contacted late last week about a very good sounding job opportunity teaching economics at nearby high school.  It is too soon to know if this will turn into a job offer, there seem to be more job opportunities lately and we are grateful for that.  The challenge is to be patient for the right opportunity that will lead to the right job.

Coming up this week:

• More car repairs - now the other car is making a very odd noise whenever a left-hand turn is made.
• A short week!  We all get Good Friday off!
• A fun week-end activity for Josh with all the youth and leaders from church. 
• Fewer than 30 days left in this school year!

A scripture to ponder in the new week:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
                                                        --Jeremiah 29:11

A mini-message from last week's General Conference to give me strength in the coming week:

"[Satan] will do all in his power to keep you captive.  You are familiar with his strategy.  He whispers: ' ...You can't change; you have tried before and failed.  It's too late; you've gone too far.'  Don't let him discourage you."
                                                        --Richard G. Scott

Keep hope and faith strong in the coming week and have a good one!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Today I am joining again with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday. Thanks to Sandra for hosting this fun link-up every week.

As I look outside my window:
I see a bright, sunny Arizona afternoon. The high temperature today (according to my back patio thermometer) is close to 90 degrees.

Right now I am:
Typing this post, waiting for my husband to arrive home from work.

Thinking and pondering:

About some changes that are probably coming in our family in the next few months. One of these is a possible change in employment for my husband.  He has been told that his teaching contract at his present school will be renewed, but only until the end of next September. That is an odd time to have a contract end, but at least a third of the staff at his school have been told this.  The entire situation has the junior high where he has taught this past year, has been strange, unprofessional and at times right down scary. Because of this, Charly is seriously considering taking an opportunity he has been offered to go back into the business world.

On my reading stack:

My scriptures and Dave Ramsey's book Financial Peace Revisited, which I hope to finish up in the next day or so.  

On my TV tonight:

I'm not really sure what I will watch tonight - but I have some ironing to do and I usually watch TV while I iron. Yesterday, we watched both the morning and afternoon sessions of General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Last night we watched the second season premiere of Granite Flats on BYUtv.

Listening to:

A clock ticking in the room where I am writing this.  Other than that, and the clicking of the keys on my computer, the house is pretty quiet.

On the menu:

Tonight - Walnut-chicken salad sandwiches

Tuesday - Possibly spaghetti - (I have been in the mood for that)

Wednesday - Homemade bean and cheese burritos

On my to-do list:

Finish lesson #2 of my online class

Laundry - one load a day to stay caught up

Ironing - as needed

Continue sorting, labeling and putting pictures in photo albums.  This is project I started over the weekend while watching General Conference on TV

Happening this week:

This afternoon, Josh had a follow-up appointment with the oral surgeon who removed his wisdom tooth. He is healing up very nicely.

I have a weekend class which will take place Friday evening and Saturday morning - so Charly and Josh will be holding down the fort then.

What I am creating:

No crafts or crocheting this week.  I had hoped to crochet some "mood afghan squares" while watching General Conference, but worked on the picture sorting project instead.

My simple pleasures:

Evening walks with my husband.

Lessons learned this past week:

Pray for peace and love before speaking when feeling annoyed or upset. Be patient and kind.  Listen with an open and loving heart, but don't step in front of natural consequences that can teach our children and loved ones much needed lessons in life.

Homemaking Tip:

The way I started doing my grocery list about a year and a half ago keeps me better organized when shopping so I don't have to run back and forth across the store for what I need.  I got the idea from The Food Nanny, another great BYUtv show.  Here is what my grocery list looks like:

Looking around the house:

Things aren't in too bad of shape. The kitchen table is a little messy since my husband uses half of it as his "landing pad" after work.  He also does the finances there.

From the camera:

Frugal find of the week:

I got this great wall hanging of "The Living Christ - the Testimony of the Apostles" at our local Deseret Industries Thrift Store on Saturday for only $3.  I have seen these hanging in other homes and always wanted one.  Now, I just have to find the perfect place to hang it!

Prayer list:

my husband in his likely upcoming employment change, my youngest son in upcoming adult decisions he will be making soon, my mother-in-law as she nears the end of her earthly life and my other children and grandchildren.  

Bible verse, devotional:

"If ye love me, keep my commandments."

                        --John 14:15

Hope you have a happy Monday and a great week!

Favorites and Blessings of the Week

This Saturday afternoon, I am joining (albeit a day late) with my blogging buddies Jamie Jo at Lord, Make Me a Saint and  Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to remember some of my favorite moments and blessings of this week.

1. Cooler, breezy days!

April began with a couple of cool, cloudy, breezy days here in the Valley of the Sun.  In this picture, you can see the palm fronds blowing in the breeze under cloudy skies.

This is our backyard very early this morning.  It was mostly a cloudy morning, although there is some sunshine this afternoon.  Temperatures are supposed to warm up this weekend  Right now it is 80 degrees outside, and quite comfortable I might add.

I am thankful for cooler temperatures because I know the hot temps are coming soon.

2.  Graduation coming up!

Josh will be graduating from high school next month!  The caps and gowns were delivered to the school last week and here is Josh trying his on.  I know that Josh has mixed emotions about graduation - but overall he is excited for the next adult steps in his life after he finishes his twelve years of public school!

I am thankful for this son who is a joy and a blessing to the entire family.  

3.  Painting project!

The hall painting project continues.  Charly likes to do the painting himself.  He takes his time and is very careful and meticulous.  He does a very professional looking job. You can see that he has first painted the baseboards and door jams white and not he is painting the walls. I appreciate all of his hard work.  The walls in the hall have need painting for a long time and they are really looking good.

I am thankful that my husband puts so much time and effort into making and keeping our home nice.

4.  Tender mercies!

Inspired from some of my Catholic blogging friends who did a Lenten blessings wall, I have made a "Tender Mercies Door" in my home. This is actually the door to the closet that goes under our stairs. Charly started by posting the positive affirmations on the white paper in the middle and I am adding daily tender mercies or small blessings that remind us of the daily love of God in our lives.

Just a couple of these tender mercies from the last week:

• Saying a prayer about something I was worried about and literally within minutes getting a text message from someone who has kindly agreed to help me with the situation I have been worried about.  (This was the first time I've had a prayer answered with a text, but hey, technology is everywhere!)
• Sitting in a hastily called meeting at school with a mother, being a little annoyed that I had to use my prep period to talk to this mother about what was really a "non-issue" with her son, and suddenly feeling a clear impression from the Holy Spirit that I needed to turn toward the mother and really listen to what she was saying, in a way that Christ himself might listen to her.  I shifted the way I was sitting and looked straight into the mother's eyes, my heart immediately softened and I felt her concern for her boy.  I realized what I had dismissed as nothing was really very important to this mother.  She had tears in her eyes as she expressed her worries about losing her much loved son. No longer was I annoyed at having to take time to meet with this mother on a very busy day, and I wanted to do everything I could to help her son and her.   That afternoon, when the boy came into my class, I started to take the first "baby steps" toward letting him know that I care and want to help.

I am always thankful for answers to prayers and feelings and impressions that come from God.

5.  Great memories and great messages!

It is time for the semi-annual conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I have enjoyed watching both Saturday sessions on TV (there will be two more sessions of the conference tomorrow).   The inspiring messages of the conference have been so relevant, inspiring and uplifting.  I have loved every one of them and look forward to more tomorrow. While I have watched, listened and even taken some notes, I have also been sorting, labeling and putting some photographs into photo albums. This is a long over due project and I have a lot of pictures that need to be put away, but I made some real progress in the project this afternoon.   

I am thankful for General Conference and the opportunity to relive some great family memories in the pictures I am putting away.

Favorite quote from General Conference so far:

"Even if everyone is doing it, wrong is NEVER right."

--Russell M. Nelson

Favorite Scripture from the Saturday sessions of General Conference:

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

                                                                  --Ephesians 4:29

Thanks so much to Susanne and Jamie Jo for hosting these weekly link-ups that allow us to look for the good in our lives.