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PLEASE VOTE!

Something To Think About On Christmas

 

I'm grateful for the gift that Jesus has given me.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

5 Things

I totally love Megan's frames! Thanks Megan!

There are so many things I am thankful for that there wouldn't be enough shabby frames to cover them all! So I've decided to just narrow it down to 5 (but squeezing my family of 7 into 3) and then maybe, just maybe add more and occasionally post them.

For now, my 5 are (not in any order at all since I love all of my family equally of course...)

1. My beautiful girls
2. My cute as can be son
3. My patient, loving, hardworking hubby
4. The blessings that the Temple gives me. Because without that and the Gospel, I wouldn't be able to keep #1,2 and 3 forever.

And a random #5. I have really been soaking up the beauty of nature this past year. I've been trying to take time to appreciate all that Heavenly Father has given me to view, smell and feel in each of the seasons. One of my greatest pleasures is to look up at the night sky and enjoy each star. Another is to breathe in the smells of nature and concentrate on the smallest things that are so intricate and complicated, yet to some, so insignificant. Have you ever just sat and looked at a spider web? I can't get enough of a beautiful sunset or a rainbow. Sappy and cheesy? Maybe. But now that I'm older, I guess something is telling me to dig deep and really pay attention to the world that Heavenly Father has given me. I'll never know when He might just call me home and I want to have appreciated as best I can, what He has given me today.

Nursery Rocks!

I think the nursery in our church totally rocks. Probably more so than other ward nurseries if I do say so myself! We have a wonderful nursery leader that goes out of her way to make it an enjoyable class for the littlest primary kids in the ward.

She has a really cute bulletin board up with all the children's photos and she always teaches them lessons that, as a parent, I would want my child to learn. Look at this cute crown she made for all the kids! It's durable too! Just what a 2 year old needs. And it's an sweet reminder that she is a child of God.

I love that our leader gives the kids handouts that will help reinforce what they have been taught. They bring home things that they can either play with or look at to remind them.

We also have a fabulous music leader that sings each week with the children. I can hear them when I'm next door teaching my own lessons to the older kids. They sing and then Ava comes home and sings them for me and with me. So fun!

Many thanks to all the primary teachers and leaders in my Ward!!! Oh, and the presidency isn't too bad either....*wink*

A Brand New Year

The 2010 Mutual theme for LDS youth is......

“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9)."

Each ward will receive a dvd entitled, " A Brand New Year: 2010 Youth Celebration"

The DVD is a special resource being prepared to strengthen youth and enhance Young Men and Young Women activities planned for 2010. I believe it's mostly youth speaking and testifying about what they have learned and how following the standards have strengthened them. Learn more about the dvd here.

I love this! I wish we had special DVD's to introduce the theme when I was a leader in YW. Sometimes I think the youth need to see that a lot of effort and prayer goes in to the themes. After all, it's what the Lord wants the youth to know, study and live right? What they learn is an armour of sort. Things to protect them inside and out throughout their lives. This theme will help them realize that everywhere they go, Heavenly Father goes with them and will not abandon them. I hope they listen to this counsel, because at one time or another, we all feel alone. It helps to know that we don't actually have to feel that way.

Just my 2 cents :)

I Heart This

My daughter, Jillian, left this comment on the Nauvoo Temple Facebook page.




Jill Weihl >>>Nauvoo Temple: Our stake went to Nauvoo for our Youth Conference..I went already twice before..but this time was soo much more spiritual.We got to go into the temple, as our "familes"--youth and a married couple.For being Sixteen, i never felt a more spirtual experience, it was like I was in the jail while the prophet was murdered..I love being a member, although I have trials, I know that pioneers made the temple for a reason..-Jillian. Muskegon,MI.
Yesterday at 11:04pm · Comment · Like

Sometimes I really heart Facebook.

Pursue the Steady Course

Word art by Sugardoodle.net

"While standards generally may totter, we of the Church are without excuse if we
drift in the same manner. We have standards—sure, tested, and effective. To the
extent that we observe them, we shall go forward. To the extent that we neglect
them, we shall hinder our own progress and bring embarrassment to the work
of the Lord. These standards have come from Him. Some of them may appear a
little out-of-date in our society, but this does not detract from their validity
nor diminish the virtue of their application. The subtle reasoning of men, no
matter how clever, no matter how plausible it may sound, cannot abridge the
declared wisdom of God."

--President Gordon B Hinckley, "Pursue the Steady Course", Ensign, Jan. 2005, 5

Leanne's thoughts: I really think ALL of the youth of the church need to read this quote. Heck, some adults do too. Maybe it should be read out loud in a statement kind of way. I don't mean in a lesson (although that is still a great idea), but as a message all by itself to be pondered over. Sometimes we need a 'to the point' message that has a tinge of bluntness in order for it to hit home. Saying that neglecting the standards can bring embarrassment to the work of the Lord, is quite to-the-point don't you think?

I think most youth would try harder to honor the standards if they really took a moment to sit down and think about the reason behind the purpose of those standards. It's so easy to get caught up in what is 'cool' and let some things slide. I like an 'in-your-face' approach sometimes. Of course a touch of love would be added so as to not offend. I think Pres. Hinckley's quote was a perfect blend of both.

I know that when teachings were put in my head strongly as a youth, I listened and thought about it that much more. That's why I really enjoyed going to stake youth activities. They always seemed to be well planned with a purpose. Now, as an adult, I need to make more of an effort to attend the adult stake events. What am I thinking by not attending some of these?! As parents we expect our youth to attend their youth activities so why wouldn't I want the same for myself?! Hypocrisy? Ugh. I vow to get better!!!

For the strength of youth and adults!!

Prom Dress Make-Over!

If you're the Mom of a daughter who is going to Prom this year, you may have noticed that there are practically ~NO~ dresses out there that are modest. They are either strapless or have spaghetti straps.

Finding a modest dress is pretty much impossible unless you order it from an online store or search for one on Ebay. Most of the online stores that Jillian and I had found were over-priced, so that left Ebay. Still not much to choose from that she liked.

Having limited funds, we decided to shop for a dress that was immodest and then give it a make-over.

In the past, she has gone to 2 formal Christmas dances. We found a dress both times that needed altering. Luckily she chose dresses that were either black or had black on it. So we were able to just buy a black shrug to cover her up. I sewed it onto her dresses. Both still looked adorable. See?
Anyway, for Prom, she wanted something other than black. We found an adorable bright pink dress at JC Penney that was, get this.....over HALF off! We only paid $39.99 vs. over a hundred dollars for a dress from other stores in the mall.

So this dress had a spaghetti strap that went around her neck. Not modest at all.
Because it was so pretty, sparkley and *cheap*, we decided to snag it and deal with the immodesty somehow.

We didn't know what we could do with a bright pink dress. No shrug was going to match perfectly. Cripes, I couldn't even find a pink shrug anyway. We also didn't think that a black or white shrug would look as nice as something that was the same color of the dress. So I searched online for alternate ideas. Boy, I love the Internet. How did we ever live without it many moons ago?!!

I found a website, ModestProm.com. They had several ideas to alter a Prom dress. The pattern I chose to use is here.

So easy! Or so I thought. No, actually, it was easy, but I'm not much of a seamstress, so I lacked confidence thinking I might not be able to pull it off.

With help from my Mother-in-law, who sewed the edges all the way around the 2 pieces (thank you again for that Mom!), and a few tears of my own because I thought I might not get it done in time, I was able to accomplish the task.

Here are some before and after photos. Please excuse the immodest looking one that is just for demonstration purposes.



Presto change-o.
Though the sleeves weren't perfect, I believe it actually made the dress look better. Plus, I'm really proud of Jillian for making the choice to be modest in the first place. She gave me no arguments (even 2 years ago she didn't) and ended up looking beautiful. Of course I had to make a digital layout based on her "choose the right" choice. :)

I suppose I better give a shout out to our friend Sharon (who just had a beautiful baby girl last Thursday!) for doing Jillian's hair. She did an excellent job and must have been tired that night because she did 2 different girls hair for Proms in one day. All while standing for hours when she was 9 months pregnant! Sharon rocks! Here's a photo of the back of Jillian's hair.

Cute huh?

Now if dress makers could only raise that bust-line a bit! -sigh-

Molly's First Temple Trip

I just had to share how excited I am that Molly was able to go on her first Temple trip last Saturday!

She turned 12 in January. This was the first scheduled Temple trip that the youth of our Ward went on to the Detroit Temple. She was thrilled to be able to baptize those who have gone on before us. It was a fabulous experience for her and I'm really proud that she chose to go.

She is my third daughter to go on Temple trips with the youth. Brycen is turning 11 tomorrow, so one more year and I'll have 4 kids in YM/YW! Wow. When they all go on the same day, it will be a lot of baptisms that my family performs for others. Around 40 in one day. What a blessing.

Jillian didn't take her camera, so this photo was taken with her cell phone. I'm just glad we have a little something to document the special moment.

Temples Dotting The Earth

I'd love to show this to our Primary kids in the ward, but not sure how to get in on dvd. Isn't it great? And so uplifting in the midst of all the negativity I've been hearing lately.

Yes on 8

Prop8voterinfo

Vote YES on prop 8

The Church released this updated statement on 16 October 2008:

As the Proposition 8 campaign in support of traditional marriage enters its last two weeks, the Protect Marriage Coalition is encouraging its members to make phone calls in support of the measure. The Church is participating with the Coalition in support of this endeavor.

This is a segment from a broadcast to Californian Church members addressing the Church’s doctrine of marriage and the Protect Marriage Coalition.


My sister in CA has had 3 Yes to prop #8 signs stolen from her yard. There are concerns that if same sex marriage is allowed, then it could possibly affect churches and temples who only perform heterosexual marriages. If bound by same sex marriage law, would the LDS church (and other religions) be forced to recognize same sex marriages? If the law passes in CA, it could pass in other places and directly affect the sacred ordinance of a temple marriage. I believe that Arizona could be the next state to address this issue through voting (but I'm not sure, so don't quote me on that).

I don't live in CA, so I cannot vote YES on this issue (I certainly would if I could), but I can do my part by helping others be aware of the issue. Check out this blog, prop8voterinfo. They have a wealth of information along with links to help a voter decide what to choose when voting.

For more information on what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believes, visit http://www.lds.org/. If you would like to read what the church specifically says about the same sex marriage issue, visit the LDS.org Newsroom here

Finding A Peaceful Happy Place

Warning: This post is really just a post for myself. It's a reminder of how I need to look for the good in my life. I've had some changes, misunderstandings, bad news, stresses, and more, happening to me lately. I need to be uplifted and I think the only way I can do that, is to make a choice to be happy. So, on that note, I've decided to dry up the tears and make a list of things that make my smile, make me happy, or that I find peaceful in my life. If you want to tag along and read some, go right ahead. You might even find that some of the things I've listed, are the very same things that make you feel happy or peaceful. If you don't feel like reading any further, then I'm ok with that since, like I said, this post is really for my own healing.

Not in any order, here are some things that I find peace in:
~Knowing that my Heavenly Father loves me just the way that I am.
~Knowing I have found the true gospel and am trying to follow the straight and narrow (can always improve and should always improve)
~Knowing I'm accepted in my large family. Knowing we all get along and there really isn't any animosity amongst my siblings and I.
~Thanks to Jillian, my Mom knew exactly how I felt about her before she died. I was able to tell her all that I needed her to know. Even with Alzheimer's, I think she understood all that I was telling her.
~I was able to bring several spirits into this world. One (two actually) left early, but now I'm at peace knowing he was perfect and didn't need to be here as long as I do.
~I'll see and raise my 2 children that I lost.

Boy, this list could go on and on. I think I'll list some things that I find peaceful in my every day life instead, because I'm getting a bit misty.

~I love to watch a beautiful sunset.
~For some reason I feel the most peaceful when I'm looking at the sky. Especially when it's filled with stars.
~I feel at peace when I look at the flowers and trees in my yard. I might not be a fan of summer, but it has it's perks!
~Feeling emotional about my YW when I did a "Birthday" party for them all as an activity. They didn't really know I was emotional about it, but I should have let them see it.
~Sitting on the beach and watching waves always brings me peace.
~Sitting at a lake (think Land of Destiny) watching the reflections and listening to nothing by quiet or the few sounds of nature is one of the most peaceful moments I've had.
~I'm at peace when I visit the cemetery.
~I feel peaceful when I'm ready to take a nap with a sleepy child by my side.
~I feel secure when I'm in my husbands arms.
~I feel peaceful when I'm taking a long relaxing bath or sitting in a hot tub :)
~I'm at peace when I bear my testimony.

Things that make me smile,laugh or just plain make me happy! (not in any order)
~My kids laughing with each other.
~Ava laughing when I smell her feet and say, "Poo 'tinky!"
~When I see Jillian reading her little heart out! Sometimes she doesn't even want to stop to eat or go to the bathroom!
~The attention I get from my hubby. He's always kissing me or hugging me.
~Watching a funny movie. The last one I saw was, "Fools Gold" and before that it was, "Death at a Funeral".
~Brycen's funny sayings and funny doings. Too many list. It needs it's own post!
~When my hubby and I have kissing wars. Who can get the most kisses in before bedtime.
~I smile when I pass the trailer park that is on the route I take to get to my own home in the evenings and see this one house where the people are ALWAYS at the table playing cards/games. Don't ask me why it makes me smile. I guess because I can count on them being there every night and it's nice to see families spending time together.
~Seeing the bunnies in my yard scatter when I pull in the driveway at night.
~Saying hello to the little old greeter man at Meijer grocery store. He was an actor who was an original monkey in the Wizard of Oz movie!
~Playing Guitar Hero with my kids!
~Reading the "Twilight" saga lately and actually finding the time to do it!
~Remembering my recent accomplishments such as finishing the Doctrine & Covenants, finally getting some flowers planted, finally organizing some of my home and sticking to my Walk Away The Pounds routine.
~Seeing my friends son peeing at the playground because he had to go. He didn't seem to mind that we were all watching and laughing!
~Being inspired by my friends talk in sacrament.
~ Being inspired by my hubby's last testimony in sacrament.
~GNO's!
~Playing badminton with one of the boys at Cub Scout Camp this week.
~Watching my girls at their dance recital.
~I looove it when one of my favorite songs comes on the radio...plus I'm super excited that Jillian made me a mixed CD with tons of my fav songs!
~Being proud of 2 kids that are willing to give up some of their summer to go to reading programs at school.
~Having Tessa, one of my YW be more than happy to soak and scrub my feet & Ava's feet last night!
~My toenails are painted and have cute stickers on them, again from Tessa at YW last night.
~Getting almost caught up on all the laundry!
~Eating a Volcano last week and not feeling too guilty about it! It was yummers.
~Watching the little 4 yr. old girl on America's Got Talent sing, "Somewhere Out There".
~Hearing that Jaleigh named the doggy we gave her, "tighty whitey"!
~Just now seeing Ava on my bed reaching waaay over to my beside table where Daddy's stuff is with her diaper hanging off and her 'lil bum hanging out!


Ok, now that I'm laughing about the bare booty, I'm feeling pretty good, so I'll stop there. I might need to make more of these lists and refer to them whenever I feel a bit down and want to have myself a pity-party. Good therapy.

Reflections of Christ Website and Slide show

Check out this beautiful slide show on the Reflections of Christ blog. I love the music. The whole thing is inspiring and spiritually uplifting. I especially enjoyed how they made Jesus Christ and John the Baptist smile while in the waters of baptism. I'm sure it was a joyous as well as a spiritual experience for them both.

Reflections of Christ is a traveling fine art photography exhibit. Currently, it's located at the Temple visitor center in Mesa, Arizona. This is a beautiful exhibit not only for LDS members, but for anyone who is Christian. Check it out!

P.S...Thank-you to my friend Nancy for sending me the link in the first place :)

Goodbye Sweet Prophet

Gordon B. Hinckley
June 23, 1910–January 27, 2008

President Hinckley passed away tonight at about 7pm. My first thought after hearing of our loss was sadness followed by joy because I knew that he was now with his beloved wife. Can you imagine the grand reunion they must have had? I know he missed her dearly and now we will miss them both.

I'm grateful to have had such a wonderful spirit leading our church for the past 12 years. President Hinckley's son Clark was our Bishop many years ago. He even taught me how to do my tithing. I remember Pres. Hinckley coming to visit once and I was able to shake his hand. What a neat memory.

Feel free to read more about our prophet at the official church website, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

STANDING FOR SOMETHING

Originally I was going to post about how I never make New Year's resolutions. Why don't I make them each year? Because I don't believe in the once a year hoopla of tossing out the words and then actually tossing away the plan by the end of February or March. I am a FIRM believer that goals should be made continuously and worked on continuously. I don't wait until the New Year to start losing weight. I don't wait until the New Year to decide to be a better parent. I'm always making goals and working to achieve them. When and if I achieve one, I set a another and work on it along side other ones.

I'm not saying that I disagree with people who make New Year's resolutions. Not at all. More power to those people and I wish them the best of luck. I'm just saying that it's not something that works for me.

Anyway, the reason for the post subject change is that I felt inspired to set a new goal because of a speech given by Elder M. Russell Ballard at BYU Hawaii this past December about using "new media" to support the teachings of the church. Here is the link.

He says that he would urge us today to use the Internet — including blogs and other forms of “new media” — to contribute to a national conversation about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches,” he said.
He's sooo right. There are so many misconceptions about our religion. I am a frequent user of Google and Google images. When I google anything about the church, I always see the sites touting the problems with "mormonism" and lds bashing. If only people could understand that any site (in my opinion) that uses the word, "mormonism" is going to have negative things to say about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, they could stay away from it and go to the source of truth. If anyone reading this isn't a member of the church, but would like more information, accurate information...why not go to the official church website? Try this link to the site: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
If the link doesn't work, go to www.lds.org

The official church website is the best place to get accurate information. There is so much knowledge to be learned at the site.

Back to Elder Ballards speech....he goes on to say that there were too many conversations going on about the Church for Church representatives to respond to each individually, and that Church leaders “can’t answer every question, satisfy every inquiry and respond to every inaccuracy that exists.”

He said students should consider sharing their views on blogs, responding to online news reports and using the “new media” in other ways.

But he cautioned against arguing with others about their beliefs. “There is no need to become defensive or belligerent,” he said. Remember as the Proverb states that “a soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).

I can see how someone can be angered easily when they are provoked on a message board or something similar online. I do my best to stay away from those type of areas on the internet, but this is my own personal blog. I think it's about time that I stand for something loud and clear. I'll be adding more pictures, more views and more testimony of my beliefs in the coming posts. We live and learn by example. I want to set a good example and spread the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm a strong Christian woman who loves the Lord, my family, and the country that I live in. I can be a voice for the Lord or keep my views quiet and fade into the background. I love to blog and I'll stand tall in my beliefs on this blog.

Elder Ballard suggests that we make sure that the choices we make in the use of new media are choices that expand our minds, increase our opportunities, and feed our souls.
I love to read other blogs that uplift me, so thank you to the many other bloggers out there who contribute such wonderful examples in the blogging world! Just as Elder Ballard states, my position is solid; the Church is true. We simply need to have a conversation, as friends in the same room would have, always guided by the prompting of the Spirit. That is my continued goal.

Would you like to join me?