In Memory

The beloved prophet of my church passed away last night. Gordon B. Hinckley was a wonderful man. I loved him so much. He helped me through all of my teenage years and inspired me through rough times during the first few years of marriage as well. I have listened to his voice countless times in General Conference and other meetings, live or broadcasted over many miles. He always gave me hope that I could be a little better, a little stronger and a little closer to the Savior. He was so uplifting and inspiring. He is the perfect example to me of love, kindness, generosity, humility and hard work. He was such a good man, more than a good man, an extraordinarily wonderful, amazing man. I sustained him many times in my life as a prophet of God, I know he was and I pray that he will find peace and joy as he reunites with his sweet wife, Marjorie in heaven. I will miss him so much and will always read his words and remember him with great appreciation and love.

He gave us his testimony, "I hope that all of you will remember that on this Sabbath day you heard me bear my witness that this is God's holy work. The vision given the Prophet Joseph in the grove of Palmyra was not an imaginary thing. It was real. It occurred in the broad light of day. Both the Father and the Son spoke to the boy. He saw Them standing in the air above him. He heard Their voices. He gave heed to Their instruction.
"It was the resurrected Lord who was introduced by His Father, the great God of the universe. For the first time in recorded history, both the Father and the Son appeared together to part the curtains and open this, the last and final dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times.
"The Book of Mormon is all that it purports to be—a work recorded by prophets who lived anciently and whose words have come forth "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations" (Book of Mormon title page).
"The priesthood has been restored under the hands of John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John. All the keys and authority pertaining to eternal life are exercised in this Church.
"Joseph Smith was and is a prophet, the great Prophet of this dispensation. This Church, which carries the name of the Redeemer, is true.
"I leave you my testimony, my witness, and my love for each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." April 1, 2006, Sunday morning session of the 176th Annual World General Conference

I know also that the things that this amazing man spoke are true to the core. I will miss you President Hinckley.

Good Quote

I saw this just now on my Google sidebar and thought it was a great quote:

"I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end."

I mean, come on, who isn't like this?

A New Baby?

No, I am not pregnant.

I thought that I would write about how our Kira transformed into a different baby over the Christmas break... She seems like a whole new baby all of the sudden! She is growing up so quickly and it is so exciting to watch her learn and grow!
- She started crawling!
- She started to say "uh oh" and it is so cute
- Will say "mama" on command
- Is starting to say something that sounds like "dadin" which is Adam or Daddy
- Gives kisses, this is one of my favs
- Continues to wave, when in the correct mood, when you say "hi"
- She pulls herself to standing and is starting to "cruise"


Adalin continues to crack us up. She does everything we do. She loves to make us sit in front if her so she can "teach us" and loves to herd the dogs and Kira all at once around the house to participate in her already planned activities.
She wanted me to babysit her baby doll a few days ago and said, "Mom, can you watch Sara? I put everything you need in her bag. Just feed her if she gets hungry and pick her up if she cries. There are diapers in the bag so change her if she is poopy. I will be back soon. I am going to school to take a hard test" Or something to that effect. I see so much of myself in her, its weird. She notices that when I drop her and Kira off somewhere to be babysat that I worry a little and say things (like that) that just don't need to be said like, "Kira just ate so she shouldn't be hungry and she may get a little tired, but she should be OK." She watches my every move and imitates them all later.
She loves McDonald's too. Adam and I told her a few times when we drove past McDonald's that she can't have any (she requests it quite often) because McDonald's will make us fat is we eat there too much. So we had someone come and look at our house the other night and made a trip to the Wendy's drive-through and she says, "We can't eat here! This food is for fat people!" Hmmm, semi true, somewhat not. I guess its better that she understands not to eat that food too much b/c it will make you fat and have a little misunderstanding that not everyone who eats there is fat than to have no concept of what unhealthy food is. Lets hope that she doesn't blurt that one out when she walks in to her next fast food restaurant.

The New Year

It hasn't been a very good start to this year's blogging, obviously, since it is the 21st of January and I haven't written a thing yet this month. I think that I set myself up for disappointment. December was SO BUSY, and I kept saying, "After Christmas everything will slow down and life will be easier." Nope. Life has only accelerated these past few weeks and I am hanging on for dear life! We arrived back in Kirksville from Christmas and New Years in Michigan with my family to realize that it was past time to get the rest of our house painted and ready to sell, our finances back in line after a little too much spending over the holidays and that it was time to REALLY dive into planning the 2008 Fun Run in April that I am a co-chair for, start studying for boards, get the girls into the doctor, make some money...
So there is a lot to keep us busy, more than before, but you know, there will always be something we are late for, behind at or buried under.
The new year has made me think a lot about myself though and some of the goals that I have. The last year and a half of med-school has done something to me that I don't like. It's hard to put my finger on... There has just been a lot of stress. It has matured me but has also siphoned a little bit of life out of my character. I have been very worried about all of my responsibilities and my feelings and my schedule. This is partly because Adam is very focused on school, which he completely should be, so when he is studying, I focus on me and the kids, not so much on him and what he is doing. Needless to really say, a small gorge has formed in our family, with ME and HIM on either side. Bridging the gap is difficult! Something as simple as sitting next to him or on his lap and talking for 10 minutes bridges that gap, sometimes it takes a little more. Luckily, it isn't a permanent hole, it is one that just has to be looked after and filled with new dirt at the end of each day, or week.
So anyway, I haven't written b/c I have been trying to figure this all out. What do I need to be better at? (This is a hard question b/c it requires you to look outside your box and see your flaws, and even harder, finds ways you can be better so that they can be corrected.) How can I grow spiritually? (This is HUGE to me right now.) How can I find time to do everything that I have to do? How can I be a more affectionate and caring wife? Mother? How can I eat healthier? How can I resist sweets? How can I keep myself from getting sick every 2 weeks? Where do I find the motivation to exercise more? I need to walk to the dogs more, but don't want to... It goes on and on.
The fact that January 1st brought these questions is a good thing. I want so much to be better and to live better. I think that realizing the areas that I can improve is a fabulous start. I am grateful for the new beginning, even though it has been a hectic one. At least our muscles are more toned from hanging on to life with a firmer grip.