Stand Alone

"As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone?"
--President Thomas S. Monson

I LOVE this quote! I know how hard it can be to stand alone and at times have not passed the test. I have however learned from this. I can be strong. I am! What a powerful message our Prophet has given us. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to learn and grow from past mistakes so that I can avoid them in the future. However, just because we can be strong, doesn't mean we should put ourselves in a place to test it! Choose wisely :)

Love

When Andrew and I got married I thought I knew love. I was convinced that I could never love him more than I did that day. I was so anxious to be his wife. During the wedding ceremony in the Temple I literally squealed with excitement. The Temple President laughed and told me to "keep it down young lady." It was so embarassing but I couldn't help myself. That day was magical and I knew it could never get better.
I am happy to be wrong. I found that with each passing year my love grows stronger. I found that with the birth of each child my love grows stronger. I am so full of love. I am so thankful for a Loving Savior who has blessed me with these amazing miracles. During this month of LOVE I wanted to remember how much Love I have to give :)

Hope

"As we put our faith and trust to work, hope is born. Hope grows out of faith and gives meaning and purpose to all that we do. It can even give us the peaceful assurance we need to live happily in a world that is ripe with iniquity, calamity, and injustice."
--M. Russell Ballard

I have been pondering hope lately and then I got this little gem in my email. I am thankful for Hope. It makes me look forward to my future. It makes me want to be better so that in my future I can be happier. I am thankful for the Gospel and the HOPE it brings to my life.

Apologies

Sometimes I think I take apologies for granted. I have been struggling with forgiveness lately. I think I finally figured out why. It is so easy for me to forgive people who come and say "I screwed up and I am sorry." In that scenario there is no problem. I will immediately forgive and probably forget. However, if someone doesn't admit that they screwed up then I have found it is hard to get over as easily. Sometimes you just need to hear the words I am sorry. On my road to self discovery I have become so much better at doing this. I have no problem admitting that I am human and do really dumb things on occasion. I just have an expectation that others should too. I realize that it shouldn't matter. I should and have for the most part but the words are really nice to hear...

Student Government

Cole is so excited to be able to run for School Historian this week. He wanted to do something fun for his "campaign" so we decided to go with Superman.

When Cole was a 4 year old he started Kindergarten early. He was at school and he started a fight with a 4th grader over who was the TRUE Superman. Cole never backed down and even pushed the kid. Now don't get me wrong I do NOT condone violence or pushing ever but come on that is funny! The kid was HUGE! Ever since then Mr. Macklay (2nd grade teacher) and Mr. Malo (the PE teacher) have called Cole Superman. I guess we'll see how Super he is. Although to me he is the ULTIMATE SUPER MAN!

Lean on Me

I think it is very telling when you see how people support and love you when it might not be so easy. I am so thankful for the handful of people that have supported me and have loved me when I didn't love myself. I am so thankful for those that never gave up on me and didn't let me completely give up. I am so blessed to have these people in my life. These people are truly inspirational to me. They have taught me how to love, how to serve and how I want to be. What an incredible gift through a horrible time. I am so thankful for a visiting teacher who is always there for me. I am thankful for teachers that prepare through the Spirit and teach me what I need to learn at that particular time. I am thankful for friends who ask me how I am and then wait to hear the answer and don't judge me even when I whine. I am so thankful for a husband that is the most incredible man I know. He is so incredible. He is always there for me whether I am happy or sad. He lifts me when I am in need. I am amazed at his ability to learn and to grow. I am so amazed at his ability to apply the things we learn in our lives and he isn't afraid to try something new. I feel such an overwhelming sense of peace and love and I have a Loving Father in Heaven who has taught me the miracle of forgiveness and Love.

Forgiveness

I must admit, sometimes forgiveness can be so easy for me. I can usually talk it through, get over it and move on with my life. Recently I saw a quote I have been constantly praying to find a way to forgive. The minute I saw this I felt such a peace. I am so thankful that I have a new perspective on forgiveness. I can move on. What a fantastic gift! I so thankful for the wonderful friends in my life that support and love me through the times when it is easy to love me but especially for the friends that have stuck with me when it hasn't been so easy. THOSE are true friends. How grateful I am to these select women. I am one lucky girl!