Random Acts of Kindness

I've always been a big fan of Random Acts of Kindness, I just wish I were better at doing them. With our recent job situation, we seemed to be the recipients of a lot of Random Acts of Kindness. We will always be so grateful for those that shared that kindness (the problem with random acts of kindness is you don't know who did it, and thus, who to thank).
The most recent act came Sunday night. The cutest basket was left at our doorstep full of soup mixes, jam and a beautiful (and yummy) loaf of bread with a little note attached that read, "Just Because We Care!" I couldn't believe that someone out there was kind enough to be thinking about us!
We pray that the Lord will bless those who act with such love and kindness. They truly are disciples of Christ!

The Love of Family

One of the hardest things for me in life has been when I've lived away from family. I have such a wonderful family...they are always supportive, we always have a lot of fun and it's easy to be in my comfort zone with them.
I know so many families that don't have any sort of relationship with their family members. Next to my husband and kids, my mom and sisters are my best friends. I know that I can always count on my dad and brothers to help us with projects around the house.
Since our unfortunate financial situtation, the love of my family has been even greater. We've recieved a lot of help from my family. Nothing big, and usually not in a monetary nature. However, it's the little things that have been blessings. Phone calls of concern, offers of babysitting, info on job openings, etc. My parents and siblings just seem to know what we need and how they can help us. They don't ask us what they can do for us, they just do it. I feel so blessed and loved.
I do feel bad for those people that think they can do it alone. That's not what life is about. I know that my family never expects anything in return, but I hope that one day I can help them out. I don't hope that they get into a financial bind, I just hope that I can return that same love.

So, Have I Ever Mentioned...

...that I was a really good jump roper when I was younger? Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFhkRZGWaMA



Okay, I WISH!!!! Why didn't they have something like that when I was younger? So amazing!

I Vant to Suck Your Blood!

Okay, is it sick that I enjoy giving blood? I know...weird. Needles have never bothered me, so I don't mind giving a little time to give blood. It's definately for a good cause. Yesterday I had the opportunity to give blood once again. I was kind of looking forward to it since I haven't been able to for a while (between pregnancies and the restrictions from having lived in Europe) so I was more than happy to volunteer. Nothing unusual happend. I signed in, they checked to make sure my blood was good (one time I got turned down because I was low on iron), I sat for a while waiting for a vacant bed, then when I got on the bed, the tech was pretty quick about getting my arm cleaned and even drew a cute, little, purple rectangle around my vein that she was going to poke, and out came the blood. It only took about 5 minutes and then I was done. Pretty simple. My arm was wrapped in a green tape and Aydon became a little intrigued with it once I got home. He kept asking me if my arm was hurt. Later, when I was able to take the bandage off, he kept telling me "Eww...gross". Then he wanted to touch it. Funny kid. Unfortunately, I still have the cute, little, purple rectangle on my arm today. I promise, I tried scrubbing it off last night and today, but since the area is still a little sensitive, I didn't try super hard. Oh well, I can live with it for a day or two.

When You're In the Service...

This morning I had the opportunity to go to the Ogden cannery to volunteer with canning green beans. Oddly enough, the only other time that I've done it, we did green beans, too. While my task was a little monotonous, it gave me a lot of time to think about what a blessing the cannery is to people all over the world.
Today we canned over 20,000 cans od beans. I thought about how many people that will help. Before we actually started, the brother that was giving us instructions told us that normally they would only plant about 80 acres of beans. This year they planted over 180 acres! And what a need it has been. Somebody commented that it is quite evident who is the head of our church. Divine inspiration! As I watched the whole process and looked at the dozens of volunteers and service missionaries, I realized how very few people in the whole welfare system get paid. That's how the Lord wants it. We need to serve one another.
Usually, those who volunteer have access to buying other canned goods from the cannery. However, because there is such a need for food right now, volunteers could only purchase a limited number of beans, nothing else. That would have been a great reward in itself, but seeing how we have access to beans from my grandparents, I was not worried about buying any beans and I was able to see the blessings elsewhere. Just the knowledge the the Lord watches out for His children is a blessing.
I feel so grateful to have been apart of this opportunity, knowing that thousands of my brothers and sisters throughout the world will benefit from the help I gave today. It kind of reminds me of the Friends episode when Phoebe talks about there is no unselfish act because no matter what it is you do, you always get that warm feeling inside from doing something good. So be it...I like that warm feeling inside from helping others.

The Best Friends!

When I first moved to Arizona, I was a little concerned about what my social life might be like. I was going down there all by myself and knew nobody. So, to my grateful surprise, it was such a relief to find 3 other girls in the same situation. We all quickly became friends.
One of the girls, Nikki, and I became roommates and good friends. Even though I was the more serious and cautious one and Nikki was the silly, goofy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants one, we were perfect for each other. We had a good balance. She helped be to be a little more relaxed and have fun, while I had to keep her from doing some things that she might regret later. It really was great! The hardest part for me when I got married was losing her as a roommate.
Even though there were 4 of us to begin with, our little circle expanded and we loved getting to know other people and hang out with them. Some of the best friendships I have come from that time in my life.
Fortunately, a couple of those friends have also moved to Utah and so I get to see them frequently. "A" thinks they are great and gets really excited when they come around. Of course, it's probably because they have as much energy as he does.
Well, last week, Nikki gave me a call and told me that they (she, Sandra and Emily) wanted to come down and fix us dinner and watch the kids for us so we could enjoy a night out. I was really excited. Nikki is a wonderful cook! Then, on top of that, later that day, I recieve a little package full of goodies from them. Just a sweet little "We're thinking of you." It was so nice and meant so much.
Well, last night they came with food and fun. "A" was literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. Then, they gave us tickets to go see a movie and they stayed to watch the kids. We went and saw "The Proposal". It was so stinkin funny! While it was a romantic comedy, I felt like it was more of a comedy, which was perfect (I'm not much into sappy romance stuff myself)!
I feel so blessed to have such wonderful, thoughtful friends. Sometimes I feel like I don't do enough for my friends and they still seem to think about me. I love you guys! Your friendship brings so much joy to my life!

My New Favorite Show

Have you ever watched a show and thought to yourself, "That was really fun. No fighting. No drama. I feel 'uplifted'?" I have! A few years ago when we were in the process of moving from Arizona to Utah. I discovered the first of a few great shows like that. Steve had already made the move to Utah, and I was left in Arizona with my baby (although he's no longer a baby) to try and get the house sold for 2 months. At night, after I put the baby to bed, sometimes I would let my mind wander and I would start to think about horrible, scary things, all because I didn't really have anybody to talk with. Then, I discovered a show on TV, "Little People, Big World." I was hooked. I would work on projects and watch that show in the evenings. I loved that I didn't have to think too deeply, it was fun and light, and an all around good show. I still watch that on occassion. Last summer, I started watching "Jon and Kate Plau 8", and, although there's a lot of controvery surrounding that show right now, I still watch it occasionally. Now, I have a new favorite show, thanks once again to the people of TLC. The show..."The Little Couple." As noted by the name, it's about 2 smaller people (Jen is barely over 3 feet tall and her husband, Bill, is 4 feet tall). Jen is a doctor and Bill is a businessman. They are the cutest couple and I love watching them go through what most of us go through each day. It comes on TLC on Tuesday nights (or you can catch reruns throughout the day). I've now found myself getting excited to check my DVR recordings to see if there's a new episcode that I haven't seen yet (okay, the series just started not too long ago and I've only seen 2 episodes so far). You've got to check it out sometime. What a joy!