http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GaxC-zPyxg
" Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them"
--Matt. 7:20

I have always loved this scripture. It is always a guide for me....a way to determine if someone is a good and moral person or if they are someone I should avoid. It worked for me in high school and college. I saw people who were having fun and making friends and I wanted to be like that, but as I looked closer I realized that their "fruits" were not good. The things they were doing were not bringing about good things but rather hindering themselves and others around them.

As I look at our beloved Prophet, I can find nothing that would make me doubt the fruits of his labors. He has accomplished so much in his life. He has served so many, within the church and without. He has shown great love for all of us. I can feel it when he talks. So many great things have come to pass in his time as our Prophet. All the temples which have been built and the " Proclamation" , a wonderful definition of our beliefs and standards concerning the Family according to the teachings of Christ. What a wonderful instrument he has been!

I pray that I may be a fraction of what he has been. I love this gospel. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love the Prophets, past and present. I love them for their undying faith and sacrifice in serving us. We will miss our dear president Hinckley,but rejoice in his joy as he is reunited with his dear wife. May we love and serve and follow our next prophet as we have Gordon B. Hinckley.

For Mandy

The Road

A long ago road made of dust and rocks

was tread on by many a foot

And that road told stories

of good times and bad

and events in which it was put.

For one such event was that of a birth

of a child with purpose divine.

He would walk on this road

for much of His life

teaching and giving His time.

That dusty road took Him many a place.

It took Him to many a home.

It led Him to a garden

and up to a hill

to where His true purpose was shown.

The road continued throughout the ages,

leading people and heavy loads.

To their destinations,

some near and some far.

But all to a place foretold.

It is up to us in this life we have

to forget or to remember.

To love one another

and follow Him

and be with our families forever.

For we all must walk down the dusty road.

Choosing which way we will roam.

But that road leads one way,

if we but endure.

The road always leads back home.

My good friend Mandy made a life changing choice today. It is a choice that will bring about great change in herself, her family and all those around her. She is a shinning example of faith and love. She loves her family so much and now has the opportunity to be with them forever.

I am so humbled to be her friend....to know that we are sisters in the Gospel. She has always been so kind to me and I can feel her strength and courage. I know that Joy will fill the lives of not only herself and her husband, but it will spread to those whom she loves that may not understand right now the choice that she has made.

Look at Your Own Risk!

I have wonderful Friends, but sometimes their ideas are not so wonderful. One of my friends likes to challenge us to go out side of our comfort zones and blog about things that are personal, emotional, or just plain embarrassing! This is one of those blogs.

I am one of those women who love being pregnant. I have more energy, I am very rarely sick and I actually loose weight. I always feel beautiful being that big. Looking back at some of these pictures I realize 2 things. Number one, I was not that big with my first baby ( although I thought I was huge) and number two, why didn't I ever look in the mirror. I was not as beautiful as I felt....not even close!

So here are some before and after pics of my three wonderful pregnancies. ( I do not have a before pic of my second pregnancy....maybe I actually looked in the mirror and decided not to take one!)

Before Sydney

After Sydney

After Haylie

Before Tuione

After Tuione

I sincerely apologize if these images cause you to have nightmares tonight!

Merry Christmas to me!

So as I was preparing for Christmas, making sure to remember batteries for all the toys and my camera, I was beginning to get excited for the smiles and laughter that come on that special morning. I had not been feeling very Christmassy for many reasons, but never the less, I was beginning to feel Christmassy.

Then out of the blue, a few days before Christmas, my digital camera stopped working. It has never been dropped or gotten wet. I have never let the kids play with it ( they have their own mini cameras to break). It just knew that Christmas was only a few days away and that I was grumpy. So why not just stop working. That would make everything better......Ha, yeah right.
So I prepared myself for a morning without my digital camera.( I had our camcorder and my 35mm camera handy...thank goodness) What I was not prepared for was another surprise Christmas eve. I was on the computer ( probably blogging =) when again, out of the blue my screen goes black. Hello, can my Christmas get any better?! Come to find out that Our screen was totally fried. Supposedly, computer screens that have volume ( speakers) built into it are more likely to burn out faster than a computer screen that you have to buy external speakers for. Go figure!

So that is why I have not blogged in a while and why there will not be any photos due to the fact that I have to go develop them instead of being able to download them. I will update my blog as soon as I can.
Oh, and Santa, if you are reading this. Next year I want a really nice Digital camera! You owe me!
p.s Thanks for my sewing machine! I luv you!