A Thought

I recently came across this quote from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and it is simply too good, not to share. Enjoy!

"As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit."

Happy Sunday!

Thursday Thought

Sometimes in life promptings come and it is up to us to decide how we will respond. How do you respond when the Spirit speaks to you? Are you willing to take a step into the dark if you're prompted to do something outside of your comfort zone?

At times in my life, I have been prompted to do things that were hard for me. During these times, I have prayed for help and strength. I don't always know why promptings come and I don't always know what the outcome will be. But I do know that Heavenly Father has my back and He has your back. And He will bless your life in more ways than you can possibly imagine, if you do what He asks. It may not always be easy, but I promise you, it will be so worth it! He can see the end result.

Jake's Salsa

Some time ago, my brother came to visit and he made some amazing salsa. Below is his recipe.

1/4 of a red pepper
Cilantro (I use 1/3 of the bunch)
1 can (16oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can green chilies
1 jalapeno (I only add 1/4 of seeds &  membrane)
Lime juice (couple squeezes)
1/2 tsp taco seasoning
Salt (just a few shakes)
Onion powder (just a few shakes)

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to desired consistency.  Devour with your favorite tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was different, but it was really good. My parents had planned to go out of town for the holiday, so we decided to have "Sibling Thanksgiving." A few of my siblings didn't like the idea and convinced Mom stay long enough to prepare a feast before heading off to the airport.

We had a great time playing games, thrift shopping, playing with a puppy and a baby, and stuffing our faces! It was a great weekend for bonding!

My thrift store find for the weekend was a Buff. I was so excited when I found it I squealed. $0.50 for another one of my favorite sweatbands, I'll take it!

Me & laser puppy!

Me & Mia.

We found a kitty sleeping in the sink.

Sadie, Megan, & Me.

A frosty path we walked on.

We also celebrated my brother Jake's Birthday a few days early. His girlfriend made some really good food from Guam and this awesome cake!

Jake's fish cake.

Jake & his cake. 

So happy!

I don't remember the last time we were able to celebrate my brother's birthday with him. So, it was special for us.

We were also able to see my best friend Betsy and her husband Will. They were in town from Nebraska. We don't get to see them very often. We enjoyed catching up! Lots of laughs were shared!

The posse.

Will, Betsy, Megan, Mr. D, Andy, & Me.

Friends for life!

Overall, I think everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Thoughts of Thanksgiving

My life is far from perfect, but I feel so incredibly loved and blessed. With it being Thanksgiving today, I feel it is only appropriate it share what I am grateful for.

• My loving husband.
• My knowledge and testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• My family.
• The scriptures.
• Friends.
•  My job and my husband's job.
• A place to live.
• Two cars that run.
• Medical insurance.
• My body.
• Good health.
• The ability to read.
• Healthy food to eat.
• Water to drink.
• The opportunity to live in Oregon.
• Rain.
• Sunshine.
• Temples.
• Sleep.
• Soldiers.
• Religious freedom.
• Agency.
• My education. 
• Mountains to climb.
• Trees.
• Trials.
• Music.

And the list goes on and on...."Count your many blessings. Name them one by one."

Weekend In Review

We have been so busy lately! The days seems like they are starting to blur together-- that's probably not a good thing. Anyone have some spare time they would like to donate to me and Andy? There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done, no matter how fast and hard we run.

Saturday

Saturday was a pretty uneventful day. The day started with me getting some blood drawn. Getting blood drawn is one of my least favorite things. I'm fine with needles, but the thought of my own blood being drawn out of my body freaks me out.

After getting my blood drawn we headed to the eye doctor, another one of those things that I don't enjoy. The doctor dilated my eyes and then let me loose to pick out some new frames. Picking out new glasses is really hard when your eyes are dilated. I am little nervous to see what my new frames look like when they come in.

We hit us a few thrift stores on our way home, but didn't find anything awesome. That doesn't happen very often.

I took a nap in hopes that when I woke up my eyes wouldn't be dilated anymore. The nap didn't help. When I woke up I looked like Quasimodo! One eye was dilated and the other one wasn't.

Then we headed out to run some errands and decided to do a little Christmas shopping along the way. As you could probably guess by now, we ended up in another thrift store and boy did we score. Or should I say my sister scored. She had been wanting a Vitamix Blender for quite some time but couldn't justify spending $500.00 on one. *Note* She is a foodie. As I was walking through the store I spied a Vitamix sitting on the counter near a cash register.

Vitamix.

I called my sister to see if she wanted the Vitamix and she said, "Yes! Grab it!" So we came how with a professional grade Vitamix. The machine retails for $700.00 and looked to be almost brand new. What was the cost of this lovely machine? $249.99 and because we are in Oregon there was no sales tax- added bonus! 

We also picked up a few shirts for Andy. He was just tickled about them!

Sunday

We went to church and it was awesome! We talked a lot about goals, how to set them, why we set them, how to achieve them, and what to do when you have set backs. I'm feeling motivated now!

After church we took our usual Sunday nap and made some healthy cookies for the upcoming week.

Thursday Thought

There has been a lot of laughter taking place in our home lately and I love it! Something about laughter just makes all my cares and worries disappear. I love laughing, I love watching my husband laugh, and I love laughing with him. At times we are total dorks, I'm sure strangers would think we are crazy. Laughter is a really powerful thing.When you laugh with each other, instead of at each other, you create positive memories (this has been our experience). It seems like once a week, we laugh so hard we cry and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Laughter really is the best medicine. Now it's time to go laugh!

Carpe Diem!