Stay Balanced!

I have felt a little overloaded recently as I have contemplated all the events that have happened and are yet to happen. I thought I'd share a little soul searching with you. I've compliled a few of my thoughts on summer.
Summer has arrived and now what? You’ve worked hard all winter and are ready to use your well earned vacation to escape, play, and have quality time. The kids are home from school for the summer and you have to keep them entertained and enriched. It is warm and you can do outdoor activities, visit family, visit places you’ve always dreamed of going. The possibilities are endless... right?
Summer can also be a time when we as women overload ourselves with so many activities that by mid - summer we are tired, irritable, unhappy, stressed etc… The rigors of the planning weigh on us and we forget to take care of our most basic needs. We set up well laid plans and then suddenly unexpected situations happen that seem to pull us in too many directions. We feel we are failing because we aren’t accomplishing all the things we dreamed would happen this summer. Stop! Breath!! Set short term realistic goals for the summer. Take care of yourself first and you and your families will be happier. Find some quiet time regularly to think deeply about where you are going and what you will need to do to get there. Pray and be in tune to the Spirit so the Lord can guide your choices. He might bring to mind a better activity than you had already planned. Take care of you and your family’s spiritual needs first. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (3 Ne. 13:33). Prioritize and make the activities quality, activities. Don’t book every minute of your day. Leave time for family, for service, and to just relax and be yourself. • Make the best use of the time you have, and consider eliminating less-important activities. Get organized and write important events on a calendar. Watch your spending. Get enough rest. Exercise is listed as the #1 reducer of stress and promotes physical and emotional wellbeing. Take some time for yourself so you can be there for others. “Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means … but be diligent unto the end” (D&C 10:4). Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t meet all your goals. Look at what you did do this summer; you’ll be surprised at what you did accomplish. Life is too short and we never know what tomorrow may bring so make the best of each day. You are precious in God’s sight and he loves you. Start a great summer!

. STAY BALANCED!
• Put the Lord first in your life. Always make time to pray, and read the scriptures daily.
• Get organized. Make a “to do” list or a schedule.
• Prioritize. Decide which things are most important and do those first.
• Write important events on a calendar and refer to it frequently.
• Keep the Sabbath day holy. You might not think there are enough hours in the day to do all you need to do, but remember Sunday is the Lord’s day, and He will bless you if you are obedient.
• “Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means … but be diligent unto the end” (D&C 10:4). Make the best use of the time you have, and consider eliminating less-important activities.
• Ask for help. Turn to your family, friends, or teachers if your load becomes unbearable and you don’t know what to do.
• Pray for help. Heavenly Father knows the pressures you are under, and He can help ease your burdens.
• Listen to the Spirit. You might feel prompted to do something you hadn’t planned on doing.
• In all your scheduling, don’t book every minute of your day. Leave time for family, for service, and to just relax and be yourself.

More Baby Shower Pictures!

So My daughter wants more pictures from the baby shower so I am adding some more. Mostly she wanted her hubby to see the quilt that I still have to bind. I still have some work to do on some of the items I have for Zoe and she wanted to know if I'd be done. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in my previous blogs, but I was put in the Relief Society Presidency at church. I have had to learn a lot and play catch up with my frequent trips lately. We are going up to Utah the last week of May so my 18 year old son can attend a Youth Camp at BYU called Especially for Youth. They stay in the dorms for a week. Learn to be gentlemen/Ladies,have spiritual speakers on church topicssuch as:(,Morals,datting and preparing for their future),participate and watch talent shows,see musical presentations,have dances where the boys have to escort the girls on their arm, get to meet and associate with other youth of their faith and beliefs. While he is there I get to spoil my other kids some more. I'll come back home again for a couple of weeks and then return to awaite Zoe Madison Jackson. I think I will hate the gas industry by the end of the summer! Ya think!
Any way here are a few more pictures.

Happy Mother's Day

A Baby's Conversation With God...

A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?' God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.'
The child further inquired, 'But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.' God said, 'Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy.'
Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?' God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.'

'And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?' God said, 'Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.'
'Who will protect me?' God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.'
'But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.' God said, 'Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.'
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, 'God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.'
God said, 'You will simply call her, 'Mother.'

Going Home Happy Mother's Day Mom!

My Dad has been ill and in a nursing home for the last three weeks. My mom had previously been hurt when my dad took her down when he fell. I hoped she would get some much needed rest while Daddy was in the care center, but not when they don't care for him! My mom is so tired and spends as much time as possible there. She finds him left on the toilet, messy and no one around. He doesn't get fed if she isn't there to help him. He's been in the emergency room twice, once with stitches from falling off the bed and once because they wouldn't get a doctor there to treat his pnemonia and upper respiratory infection. She is trying to get him released and home by this weekend. She is lonely and does as much for him up there with no place to relax as she would do at home. I don't want her to not have any kids home for mother's day. I hope our arrival will sooth her soul a little. I admire and love her so much. I hope I can have the patience, endurace, and strength at age 81 to do what she does. She is amazing and has alway been such an example to me.
I am taking my daughter Kristin with me as she is having a rough week. We thought we had adopted our new son in law to be.....things didn't work out so well. She had been unhappy and miserable and they decided to break thing off. She said it was hard, but feels a feeling of relief and comfort after much prayer and soul searching. She went to the temple grounds the other day and came home crying. I know it is hard now not only for her but all of us. It is amazing how much you come to love the companions and friends your children bring into your life. I know Heavenly Father will help her find the right eternal companion someday. I'ts not always an easy road though.
Steve's dad is getting worse with his alzheimers and they had to sign papers last week to reserve a private nursing home room for him. It really stinks to see your parents age ungracefully. I pray when it is my time to go I go to sleep and wake up in heaven like my Grandmother Elder did.
My good news or bad, it depends on how you look at it. I have been called to the Relief Society Presidency as 2nd Councilor. I am excited and a little nervous. I can's wait to see where Heavely Father helps me to grow. I love doing music and still am since we are kind of music poor in our ward, but it is nice to stretch the spiritual growth some more. I have wonderful sisters to work with and enjoy their spirits and companionship. Ask me in a few months if I'm still excited. We had our first enrichment board meeting yesterday and it was so fun hearing everyones great ideas. Let's see if we make out okay for my first enrichment on June 5!
My other good news! NO MORE PROJECTS FOR AARON'S ClASS! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!Tommorow we get rid of the stinky plant he has been watering with milk. Yuck! It finally had to be moved to the front porch. I was getting a little grumpy after 4 major projects in the last two weeks, a book fair, and a field trip. I love helping so much but I'm a little on overload lately.
Sorry my blogs are so depressing! Baby Zoe is almost here though and I'm sure the mood of my topics will soon change. Katrina was just here for her shower and of course we didn't get enough time. We had fun poking Zoe and chasing her around Katrina's belly. Danielle even go out her stethescope. I asked Katrina if she felt violated yet! Ha Ha She said she was enjoying the attention. I love them all so much! Missed Daddy Matt though!
God Bless til next time!

Life Needs Little Laughs But Big Ones Are Better!

I have had so many events happen this month, that it will take me some time to relay them. Sad and stressful, Surprizing, and Exhilarating.
Until then......
I am passing on a BIG LAUGH to all as I really needed one myself. This is from one of my adopted kids blogs.I adopted her in spirit as well as many others over the years as they brushed through my family's lives. Kristen I love you! Thanks for the laugh!

For those of you who wax, you will understand fully and those who don't will never make this mistake. Better go pee before you read this. This is by far one of the funniest things I have ever read.Hair Removal...(I don't have a clue as to who wrote this, but....WHAT A RIOT!)All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on.........My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours:'Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.' So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom.It was one of t hose 'cold wax' kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off.No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees.('Cold wax,' yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works!OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it *was* a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!!I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted. I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious.Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal.I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip. There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch. I am touching wax.I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself 'Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!' What can I do to melt the wax?Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right??? *WRONG!!!!!!!*I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgi cal equipment - I sit.Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter 'So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!'There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, 'Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?'She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night.While we go through various solutions. I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor . Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY GOD!!!!!!!The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. 'IT WORKS!! It works !!'I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair....THE HAIR IS STILL THERE.......ALL OF IT!So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point.Next week I'm going to try hair color...

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!

March Madness!

The closet that flooded is finally repaired! Yeah! I just have to shampoo the carpets in the bedroom and put my son's room back together. Thanks to Tony I didn't have to work too much this time. just cleanup and painting. It took a little longer than expected due to a much needed vacation to see my expectant daughter and husband durring Spring Break.
It was so great to see them. I took up a Jenny Lind crib, changing table, cradle,bassinette and boxes and boxes of clothing that have traveled around the family. My van was quite loaded. My best friend and her daughter and grandaughter went up to Utah with my son and I. It made the trip go by so much faster to have someone to visit with. The kids either play games, sleep, read books, or watch movies while I count miles and road lines. It is still hard on the back to sit for so long. We got to "Hole in the Rock" and my son was insistent on me stopping. I told Him I'd stop for a potty break, but we weren't going in the gift shop. He reminded me that on our last trip he saw a sword there and I told him if he saved enough money, the next trip I would stop and let him buy it. I had forgotten and he had his saved money in hand. We agreed that with all the stuff already in the van, a stop on the return trip might be more practical. So we proceeded to Salt Lake.
It was a short and mixed emotional trip. My son in laws grandfather passed away and there were some hard feeding spreading throughout his family at the time due to some past experience. I felt so bad for my son in law. He was trying to take the higher road and mend family feuding so as to honor his name sake and comfort his grandmother and aunts. I pray that hard feelings from his parents might be softened and knowlege as my son in law put it that " it is for all men to forgive, but I the Lord will forgive whom I will forgive" Will come back to them. It took a lot of courage to do the Lord's will and let past grievences go. He will be blessed eternally for his efforts to mend the family ties here on earth. I pray for his comfort and the Lord's abiding companionship durring this trying time.
On a great note. I got to feel my granddaughter move inside my daughter. I'm not sure there are words to express my feelings. I am so excited for them, yet afraid that something might go wrong. I will be so relieved when she is born and ALL my babies are safe. I wish I was closer to help more and to see the growth of this little one. I still can't beleive that I am going to be a Grandma. However, after looking in the mirror this weekend and my mother pointing out to me that my gray haired roots were shinning again, "Grandma" seems to fit. Time to get out the bottle of hair dye again!!!!!!!!!!! So much for all natural!
Upon our return home I got news that my 81 yr old mother who is sole caregiver for my 90 yr old father fell trying to move my dad and tore her hamstring, got a hemmorage in her muscle and had some fluid oozing in her hip socket. The doctors said they didn't feed that surgery was waranted as of yet, but would commence with physical therapy three times a week in her home. She has hired a nurse to come every morning M-TH to help get my dad up and dressed. She is on her own on Fri-Sun. I went down this weekend to help so she can heal, my sister is going down next weekend and my brother is going down the following weekend. I am planning on spending the first weekend of every month with them to help with yard and household upkeep. I am hoping more help will come from my siblings. It is hard to see your parents age and lose their capability to care for themselves or each other. I am trying to convince my mother to sell out and move up here with me so I can be there on a daily basis. It's hard to leave your home and deel with change at that age. It's hard to stay home for me and cry because I can't help more.
Well on to my next progect. I am painting my living room and kitchen so I can get the trim and baseboard put back from our remodle job a couple of years ago. So many complications in our life have postponed our finishing.I'm actually not sure there is such a thing as finishing. I think it is more a work in progress!
Love and best wishes for all til next blog!

Rough few weeks

I started getting spring fever as the temperatures warmed up. I took a break from our never ending house remodeling over the past couple of years. I was so tired of projects, especially after a wedding, a sealing, a 50th anniversary and Holidays. So I went and bought some paint and decided to paint my kitchen and living room. Everything is bright white and I wanted to warm things up a bit. Change is always a good thing.
Then my garbage disposal broke and spewed water all over my kitchen through the air valve by the faucets on the sink. The pipes under the sink shook loose and I had water everywhere. I have cleaned the drawers and cabinets with Clorox cleanup and everything in the kitchen still smells musty.
So on Tuesday the 11th of March, my son came in and said his carpet was wet in his closet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The piping for the hot water heater is in between his closet wall and the water heater closet. We have had problems there before and had to rip out the dry wall and have the plumbing fixed. Then of course we had to repair the closet wall. Well two years ago we got rid of our 21 year old carpet and put in all new flooring. Now I have soggy new carpet and a ripped up wall again. I just starting crying yesterday. It is so expensive to replace things as they fall apart and I have done all my own work for 25 year to save $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ I chiseled out old tile and laid new ceramic tile. I've ripped down pony walls and redid the dry-walling. I've rota tilled outside. Built a wall between my entry hall and the laundry area. I've ripped out cheep cabinet bases and rebuilt them with plywood. Any way you get the idea. I'm getting old tired and broken!!!!!!!!!! The plumbing leek was the last straw. It has taken a toll on my body and the doctors told me this last year that I couldn't do this hard labor any more.We had bad builders who put in polybutaline piping that had been banned in construction now. There was a law suit against the company a bout 10 years ago, for fixing and replacement. However, the stipulation was that you had to have a visible leak at the time of the suit. Of course my problems started about a year after the time period expired. I'm always a day late and a few dollars short! Any way my son is back in his brother's room sharing until we can dry out and re fix again. Luckily a good friend from church does construction and came to my rescue. I told him I'd pay him to just fix it.
My son also had a project for History on Family History, so I have spent the week gathering my stuff and scanning baby pictures and family pictures for him to use in his report. Needless to say, my spring projects are on hold for a while. Maybe next week.
My youngest son has a report on Mozart so I am helping him gather info. He has to write a biography, have a poster with both hand drawn and printed pictures. He has to dress up like Mozart, because they are doing the presentations like a wax museum of the people. He has to do a demonstration of what made him famous, so we are now learning a short Mozart piano piece for him to play on the keyboard. Wow! I don't remember these kinds of projects when I went to school. We're talking 4th grade!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought I was done with school. I keep asking the kids "When do I get my report card.
Well on a good note, Spring break is coming up and I get to go to Utah to visit my oldest baby who is having the baby this summer. She just had a little pooch at Christmas. She sent me a text pic of her tummy. So CUTE! I cant wait to feel the baby. We have a home to live in, and we will own it free and clear in two years. My husband has a great job and I can stay home, and my children are all happy and healthy!
It felt good to vent. Best wishes to all for now and God bless you all.

Playing catch up

December 2007
Dear Friends and Family,
This has been truly an eventful year for our family. We are all doing fine and our family continues to grow in more ways than one. In January our 2nd oldest daughter announced her engagement to her high school sweetheart of 5 years. We began to set in motion plans for an August wedding. We got the dress ordered and started stocking up on supplies for the decorations. We found material for the bridesmaid dresses and our plans came to a halt.
Last February I had to have an emergency hysterectomy because I was hemorrhaging. That kept me down for a couple of months and left me tired and anemic, but I am constantly gaining on it. I am still blessed to be able to share what limited music ability I have at church by being the ward music director.
In April my dad, eighty nine years old, underwent surgery on his neck to fuse the vertebraes together. They had twisted until the spinal cord was pinched and calcification had grown in between. His discs were deteriorated. They went in through the front of his neck and scraped out the calcification. Then they had to realign the vertebraes and pin them together with a plate. We knew the risks at his age were high. If he didn’t have the surgery and kept falling with his dizzy spells he could be paralyzed the rest of his life, however at his age the anesthesia could cause problems. He went through surgery well, but he had a terrible reaction to the anesthesia afterward. He hallucinated and thrashed out at the nurses and mother. He also couldn’t swallow because of moving his vocal chords and esophagus out of the way for the surgery. They put him on thickened liquid diet, yuck! He was placed in a rehab hospital and moved from El Paso to Las Cruces. This didn’t go well either. He thought we had put him in a nursing home and he wanted out. Mother ended up putting a cot in his room and staying with him. The doctors thought his reaction to the surgery was causing Alzheimer’s and depression and gave him medication that he didn’t need that made his mental state worse. They sent him home with a neck brace and put him on home health care to rehabilitate him. He just has gotten worse and worse. He is now almost completely wheelchair bound and can hardly converse. I miss my dad! My mother has been a saint. She works way to hard and her health isn’t what is should be. We celebrated daddy’s 90th birthday at Thanksgiving in Silver City. All of the kids were there and several of the grandkids.
Steve is still working hard at Transcore and still loves playing golf. He has been such a support to our family throughout all our experiences. He is such a great husband and father and we love him dearly and don’t often enough give him the praise he deserves. He continues to sing in his church Choir and share the talents God gave him.
Kristin is still attending UNM. She has been quite busy. She is in the Relief Society Presidency in her singles ward at church. She is in the institute choir and just did a wonderful Christmas program. She attends religion classes. She is pursuing a degree in elementary education.
Eric is now a junior in High School. He has become interested in Computer Art Design Architecture (well besides girls) and is doing quite well. He has plans to pursue this field for a degree after he graduates. He is the only priest left in our ward at church and has to pull a lot of weight in his church responsibilities. It is tough at times and he misses many of his friends that have either been split into another ward area or have graduated and moved on to college or missions. He has many young men looking to him for guidance and examples. A few new young men will become priests soon. He is still such a help to me at home. I don’t know what I will do when he leaves home. He has me spoiled. He better pass down his skills to his brother Aaron before he goes anywhere!!!!!!!!!!
Aaron is in 4th grade this year and still loves school and reading. He is having a competition right now with one of the boys in class to see who will finish the Harry Potter series first. His first love is knights and dragons though and he has completed several books on the subject. I am still trying to get him into some other genres. He is a great boy and so obedient. He loves God and it shows in all he does.
Our summer was spent making wedding decorations dresses and invitations. On August 4, 2007 Danielle married Chad. She was beautiful and the wedding was so tender and beautiful. It was the first time in a long while that we as a family were able to do music together. It was such a rewarding experience. The kids were having a house built and wouldn’t be able to move in until Nov. so they lived with us for a while. I think they are enjoying having a little privacy now! Danielle is so busy. She got a job as a nurse tech III in the emergency room at Presbyterian Hospital. She works there 36t hours a week, goes to school at UNM and still works her job for 10 hrs a week at Defined Fitness Gym. Now that they moved out neither her husband or us get to see much of her.
After the wedding, we (including Danielle and Chad) drove to Utah to be with Matthew and Katrina our oldest. Danielle and Chad honeymooned in the mountains just NE of Salt Lake. Matthew and Katrina being married civilly 3 ½ years ago, were sealed (married for eternity) in the LDS Salt Lake Temple on August 8th. A day we will never forget. They made vows and covenants to God to follow all his commandments and live righteously so to be man and wife not until death do us part, but for time and all eternity. Their children will be born under this covenant and be sealed to them as a family for all eternity. We drove back home on the 12th and moved Chad into the house.
In September we celebrated Mom and Dad’s (Leo and Susie) 50th anniversary in Santa Fe. It was wonderful. Mom and Dad Catanach have also had a rough year with health and stress. Dad’s dementia is continually getting worse and it wears on Mom so much. All of Dad’s brothers and sisters were here for the party. We ate, danced and got acquainted with family again. We hope to stay in touch more often.
After trying to have a child for the last couple of years and going through some frustrating months even seeking help from infertility specialists, Katrina called us in October to tell us that they were pregnant and we were going to be grandparents. They were just getting ready to start some infertility meds when they found out. It is always hard to hear that it will happen in the Lord’s time, but all things happen in His wisdom and timing. It is great to see her so happy. The due date is July 4th, 2008. Isn’t it ironic to have such an independent child have an Independence Day baby! Ha! Ha! They are coming home for Christmas and we are so excited.
Through all the trials and joys this year we have been greatly blessed by the companionship of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God our most kind a gracious Father in Heaven. It never ceases to amaze me how much abundance, love and support they pour upon us for even just small little requests. At times I feel my needs are so small and insignificant compared to the needs and trials of the world, and yet no righteous request from me is too small to be granted by God in His time. I feel His constant companionship in all I do. I recognize His hand in all matters of our lives. The more we read his Holy Scriptures, Pray, and ask His guidance, the more blessings he bestows upon us. It is easy to use life’s busyness and excuse our way out of doing His will. If there is one thing I have learned in life is that tomorrow may not come, so live every day as if it is your last and you will be standing before God this day for judgment. Time is a short and precious thing. Make the best of it and have no regrets. If we slip, fix it now and don’t procrastinate.
I pray that we all recognize His hand in all things and show gratitude for His greatest sacrifice in our behalf. He sent His only begotten son even Jesus Christ to this earth to set an example for us to live by. Despite the miracles, love and shedding of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane in our behalf, he was cast down, tortured and hung on a cross for all mankind. As we celebrate Jesus' birth this Christmas season may we more remember that as he was born, yet he lives. He was resurrected, His body reunited with His spirit as we too can be resurrected and live again after this mortal life. As a parent I can’t imagine making that kind of a sacrifice with my own child. God loved all of so much that he wanted all of us to return to him and together with his son Jesus Christ created a plan of salvation so that we might return to him. We don’t have to sacrifice as greatly as Christ for our salvation. We just have to believe, take upon us His name, follow his example and try to live our lives the way he has shown us. We have to live this life not only during the holidays but all year. May we turn to him daily and ask what we need to do to make a difference and do as he asks. He is always with us! “Knock and it shall be opened unto you ask and ye shall receive….” Miracles do still happen every day and will continue to happen because God loves us. May God bless you and your family this Christmas and throughout the year to come is my prayer in Jesus’ name, Amen


With all our love and best wishes for everyone now and always,