NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

When I was younger my New Year's resolutions were things like working out, scripture reading, keeping my room clean, or not kissing any boys. Now that those things are a regular part of my life (well I kiss one boy), I am looking a little deeper for these resolutions. My mom sent me a video recently about a man with no arms and legs (posted below). Although I have all of my limbs, I have other handicaps that present obstacles to my ability to live a full life. As I make this list of weaknesses in my mind, I feel totally overwhelmed! They affect my relationships and my own happiness. They seem like impossible hurdles. Like this man, I don't want to let my handicaps affect my life forever. Like him, I am going to get back up. No matter how hard I fall, no matter how many times.

Merry Christmas!

Wow!  Brad is so much fun.  He took the kids out in -28 degree weather, and got them both frost bite on their faces, just to they could have a few minutes of fun.  I'm just gushing!

We Love SANTA!!!

I thought that I looked really good in this picture.  I think this Santa really brought out the best in me.  Seriously.

(AS you can see, Sarah did not write any of these captions, it was BRAD!)

On another note

I am very grateful for my life. Lately I have been looking around and thinking to myself "Sarah, if you are not happy right now, you will never be happy!" I have to tell myself to stop worrying and just enjoy my life, my kids, my husband, everything I have been given. Right now I really have nothing to complain about. My entire family is healthy, we have our faith, a warm home, a free country, food on our table, presents under the tree and wow I could go on and on. But today, come what may, I am just going to be HAPPY!!!!

Venting

So this morning I was excited because Jesse woke up dry and we went potty as soon as he got up and peed forever in his little potty. I was like "good job Jesse!" I brought him into the kitchen to eat his breakfast and when I came back to get Breanna she had dumped half of the pee all over the bathroom floor and spread it around with her hands. So I put her in the bath and washed the floor. After Jesse finished his breakfast he came in the bath with Breanna. I got Breanna out, dried her off and put a diaper on, then got Jesse out. While I was drying Jesse off I realized Breanna was missing. I went into the bathroom and lo and behold, she had dumped out the other half of the pee and spread it all over the floor again. 

Increasingly I'm feeling what I've always known-nobody cares. Nobody cares if my house is clean and the floors are scrubbed. Nobody cares if I feed my family healthy food, if I exercise, if I have a testimony, if I recycle, if I keep my 2-year old's TV time to under an hour even on wintry days, if I look pretty one day,  if I get my kids dressed and control my temper even when I want to lose it, or even if I do the grocery shopping at Superstore alone with my two kids because my husband can't stand grocery shopping and plan my meals before I go so I can keep it under budget. Nobody cares!  

Okay, I know even if they don't know it yet, my kids will be grateful someday. Brad tells me he's grateful but I think deep down he probably just expects it. Point being, I might as well stop waiting for someone to say "Excellent job!" because it's not going to happen!! 

Things In the News

Our Little People Town

I was lucky enough to inherit a bunch of little people but I wish they still sold them.

They are so colorful and fun.

Me and Brad

This picture is deceiving as we don't always look this good ha ha. But this is the only fairly recent one we have together the two of us, believe it or not. And just so you non-existent-as-of-yet readers know what we look like :)

Things in the News

A week or so ago I was listening to the radio and a guest came on to talk about his new book. An anthropologist, the man has interviewed people from around the world and belonging to different religions to find out why they believe in their god or gods. His book lists those reasons and then shows why there is reason to doubt each one. I am not an anthropologist or scientist of any kind, but this man was speaking to me, to the believer. That is why I feel I can respond.  The author sounds like a nice and reasonable man, without animosity. He simply said that all people should question their beliefs. 

I want to say here that I have never doubted that my God is real. Even as a little girl and even in my darkest hour, I have felt the Savior's love and prayed to my Father in Heaven.  But for some reason this time I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to entertain the possibility that I might be wrong. I like to be right. If I am wrong, I want someone to tell me why so I can be right again. To me, the search for truth is more important than my pride and I think Guy Harrison is probably the same way. Anyways, this doubt remained in the back of my mind for a few days. I gave it credence. Then I opened my scriptures to the Book of Mormon. I remembered. Heavenly Father is merciful to me in my weakness and it did not take long for the spirit to reaffirm the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

I remembered how the spirit had born witness to me time and time again, in my mind and in my heart, sometimes in powerful ways, that what I read in the scriptures and hear from the mouths of his servants regarding Jesus Christ is true. I'm not sure if "the Holy Ghost has testified to me that my God is real and my religion is true" is a chapter in his book. But if it is, nothing he could say would convince me otherwise. The spirit transcends logic and is more powerful than sight and any other physical sense. It speaks truth to the mind and to the heart. I have felt it. It's something I can't deny.

I think the author of this book wants someone to convince him that there is a God to hope in. He is open-minded and seems like a good person. So, I hope someday he can read this and tell me what he thinks:

 "What greater witness can you have than from God?" (D&C 6) The apostle James said, "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Moroni promises in the Book of Mormon: "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you." He continues later, "Wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is. And ye may know that he is by the power of the Holy Ghost." So, (he might say), you have to first believe and then you will receive this witness? It's true, you receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. But listen to this: Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon states: "Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto me a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it." He later defines faith as "hope for things which are not seen, which are true." One more scripture to tie it all together. In Alma 32 it says: 

 26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.

  27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than ^adesire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

 

28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

Faith is power. Faith is the power by which God created the earth, faith is the SUBSTANCE of things not seen. It is material, though unseen to the human eye. We are here on earth to develop our faith so that we can become LIKE God. I could go on. But I really hope Mr. Harrison reads this and tells me what he thinks so I can in turn be enlightened. I think these debates are important. 

These are my kids, Breanna 1 yr, and Jesse 2 1/2 yrs. Breanna says "uh-oh, "hi b-mama" (I think that's her way of combining Breanna and Mama), "baby", "hi dada", "bye-bye", "boo" and one of the cutest, "owie" every time she falls down. You can probably imagine how much I adore her and every minute I get to be with her. She is a very pleasant personality. Jesse is one of the most curious people I have ever met. Many things fascinate him. Currently they include rocketships, dancing, Wall-E, guns, Spiderman, anything fast, letters and numbers. He knows all his letters and the sounds they make. He's starting to be able to connect letters with words like "g is for garage" etc. He's really funny and takes up a great deal of my energy, both emotional and physical. But he's so worth it because he's the most wonderful boy and my knight in shining armor.

Things in the News

I took out the expletive, but I'm sure you can imagine. Click on the picture to see it full size and read the small print at the bottom. Too funny. Courtesy of smalldeadanimals.com 

 

I love these two!

We have been having so much fun lately with the snow. Breanna doesn't like it so much but she's more than willing to sit and watch. I just wish we would have gotten to the snow while it was sticky enough to make a snowman. Jesse loves snowmen and anything Christmas!!