Halloween

Today I am grateful for the comfort and love The Lord helps us to express through hugs. I know the first thing The Lord will do when He sees us again is wrap us in a hug. I am grateful that He put it into our heads down here and He lets us express so much in just a simple action. RJ has been out of town and got home today. The first thing he did was give me a great big hug and I just feel the stress leave and I can feel how much he missed me and how happy he is to be home and how much he loves me. It is amazing the power that is in one simple action. So here is to the day when we can all feel that same stress release/being missed/happy/love feeling when we are wrapped in the arms of our Savior and are home again.

God Loves You!

Heather

Wednesday too

A great blessing in my life is the Relief Society. I have learned a lot from the sisters I have come in contact with over the years. I am grateful for the message of charity and compassion they give. Woman have so much they offer the world and the Relief Society gives an outlet for some who would otherwise not know how to use their gifts. I love the organization and I know The Lord works very closely with the sisters and He takes an active role in the lives of women who let Him. He loves women and wants them to rise to their full potential. I am grateful for the friends I have made and for the opportunity I have to be a part of such a great group of sisters. I know The Lord loves and blesses woman, so I know He blesses me :)

God Loves You!

Heather

Tuesday too

Today my husband got his associates degree though work of a miracle. He has had the credits for a long time and we finally need to get his diploma and he thought it might be too late. Through a few little instances where we were given the right info at the right time and by the very grace of God, my husband now has a degree. I am so proud of him for all his work and sacrifice. It has been a fight to get this far and I am so happy for him! I am grateful for an ever present Father who watches and helps His children continually. I am grateful for Him prompting those who could help on how to help.

God Loves You!

Heather

Monday too

Today I am grateful for the stubborn bone The Lord gave me. Sometimes, okay most times, it gets me in trouble but I am grateful for it when I need to do something and have no no motivation at all. The Lord gave me a 'I will go. I will do!' Stubborness that makes me get off the couch and on that treadmill, our do the dishes, or put in some laundry. Way too stubborn to be idle.  So I am grateful for the little voice that won't let me rest until a task is done.

God Loves You!

Heather

Another Sunday

Today I am grateful for plumbing. As I was bathing my kids today and showering myself, I was so grateful for the ability to get clean quickly and easily. I take this blessing for granted all the time. I am so grateful The Lord put it into someone's head how to work it all out so that I have running water in my home that I can even heat and have warm water with the turn of a handle. I really am spoiled with this convenience. I am also grateful that I live in a county and situation where I get this privilege.

God Loves You!

Heather

Another Saturday

Today I am grateful for a fun family. The Lord blessed me with a fun husband and fun kids. We dressed up in our Halloween costumes for pictures today so we don't have to stress about the pictures on Halloween and so I don't get upset if the kids mess up their costumes at school parties before I can take a picture (if you know me you know I am a pictureaholic and am always taking pictures, a MUST) I put together all our costumes from pieces so we have the best Legend of Zelda costumes. I could be biased :) With help from both my moms with their sewing talent and my husbands talent at making things and my talent for finding things on eBay, we looked rather fetching I think. I digress.... So what I was saying is The Lord gave me a family that was just as excited to wear their costumes as I was to see them in them (except RJ and the tights, he HATES when I make him wear tights....) It means a lot to me to be able to have fun and play with my family so I thank The Lord for a playful family that loves me.

God Loves You!

Heather

Another Friday

Today I am grateful for prayer. It brings peace to my heart to know I can turn to my Father in Heaven whenever I want to. One time a day, five times a day, twenty times a day-He is always there. I am sure I get boring or whiny but I know He listens. I did not have anything major I needed to say today but I am so glad I have that constant communication and I am glad He lets me know He is listening. I can feel His love wrap around me as I pray. In times of major trail or in times of peace I know He is there.

God Loves You!

Heather

Another Thursday

Beautiful fall. The Lord has given us so much beauty to behold in the changing of seasons. Fall is my favorite. I love the colors and the crisp air. I am so grateful to The Lord for loving me so much that He gave me this beautiful world to live in and to enjoy. Today I enjoyed fall.

God Loves You!

Heather

Another Wednesday

A blessing we all share from The Lord is the good men and women who are willing to lay down their lives on our behalf. I am so grateful that The Lord supports and sustains these brave men and women everyday that we can have a free country that is lawful and as safe as they can make it. I had the oppurtunity to tour our city police station today and was overcome with the sense of duty these great people have and how much they care for us and our families. They sacrifice so much that we may feel safe. Law and order is the Lord's way of doing things and I am so grateful for the courage and the strength He gives to His children so that they may protect those who may not be able to protect themselves. So to those who protect us and our cities and our states and our country, THANK YOU!
And I thank The Lord for His wisdom in setting up programs to protect His children and for His constant watch and care for those who need to enforce it.

God Loves You!

Heather

Another Tuesday

I am grateful for sweet spirits The Lord sends to be in my life. I have so many of them. Individuals that just make me happy to be around. I know that they love me and I know I love them. They make life better. Some in my life are family, some are friends. Just being with them sometimes makes me feel at ease with wherever I am at in life. Sometimes it even feels as if life slows down and nothing is as important as being with that person right then. Whether all these great people are here to help me or I help them or we help each other does not matter to me. I am just grateful they are here. The Lord knows me and He knows who to send to love me. I am grateful for that Parental love.

God Loves You!

Heather

Another Monday

Today I am grateful for The Lord giving me the gift of cooking. I am no expert but my family will eat and enjoy what I cook. He also has given me a good set of taste buds and a recipe from a book usually gets Heatherized. When I make a new dish RJ always teases me by saying, "So what will you do next time?" He knows I usually don't leave a recipe as is. I also make my own off of taking some and mixing them. I love to cook (and eat) and I am so grateful for the gift I have to love it AND do it well. The Lord has blessed me richly with that. If only it was good for my waist line....

God Loves You!

Heather

Sunday, again

I am always amazed at how one scripture or one thought can open up a principle to you. You can hear lectures and read books about the subject and hear talk after talk but in one moment, one quiet moment The Lord opens your eyes when reading one verse or one paragraph and the light goes on. This happened to me today during sacrament meeting while studying about the Holy Ghost. This is a subject that is well talked about and I have heard many lessons and such on it. But when reading two verses in the Book of Mormon I grasped a principle and then when reading a quote I grasped another. I am so grateful that The Lord still speaks to His children and we can still receive our own inspiration so that we can continue line upon line, precept upon precept.

God Loves You!

Heather

Saturday, again

Today I am grateful for the cuteness of children. I may be biased :), but I have 4 adorable children. The Lord has blessed me with cute little stinkers. In some ways it is a blessing for them because that is what keeps them from being grounded or in time out for eternity. So the blessing works both ways :). Seriously though, countless times today my heart has melted at something they said or something they did. Whether acting there age or not they have a way of driving me up the wall or driving me to my knees in gratitude. I am very blessed to have them and I am honored The Lord trusts me enough that I can be called 'Mom'

God Loves You!

Heather

Friday, again

Miracles still happen. Today my daughters life was saved by a miracle. My youngest was in the play pen when one of her siblings, who weighs over double what she does, fell into the play pen. Hard. My youngest was not even touched. The older one fell in such a way (which by all laws of physics should not have happened) that she took up all the rest of the space in this little play pen. And as some of you know, my children are good stock. They are not small so this was a miracle. The Lord saved my youngest when her 3 year old sibling decided to do something against the rules. I am so grateful for an extra pair of Eyes and Hands when I need them. That comforts me to know He is always there for me AND everyone else.

God Loves You!

Heather

Thursday, again

This may sound silly but I am grateful today for the Lords protection of my material things. To go a little deeper, a few times I have almost dropped something. Well, to be perfectly honest the things should have dropped and shattered. No question in my mind that they would have broken and caused a safety issue plus, well my stuff would have been broken. But it felt as if time slowed down and gravity clocked out a minute and I could catch them or soften their fall. It was really weird but I am not complaining. I was very grateful every time. So today He saved some of my stuff when I was actually paying attention and can give Him the credit. I know it was not me who did it.

God Loves You!

Heather

Wednesday, again

Family support is what makes this life easier than it could be. I am so grateful that I have that. I know many who don't. They have good friends who help out but I have good friends and great family. I have been so blessed with goodly parents and great parents-in-love. The Lord brought me to a great man who shared his loving family with me. Add that to the already awesome parents I have and tell truth, I am spoiled rotten by both. I hope I am as much support and help to them as they are to me. So my reminder today is that The Lord provided me with the exact family I needed to be happy. I love how things work out :)

God Loves You!

Heather

Tuesday, again

I got a little insight today I believe came from The Lord. Sometimes I am not as stellar as I should be at doing everything I am supposed to. I fall behind in my daily study, I yell when I should speak softly, I hold grudges. Then I am blessed with something I need out of the blue and I think 'Why? I am not being the most obedient.' Well, today I believe I got part of the why. I may falter but I sure try and give my all. And when I do, I do it with a glad heart. With joy. I love The Lord. I love the gospel. I love to keep the commandments. I think I am blessed (I think this applies to everyone) not just by my actions but by my attitude. I believe He blesses me somedays because I may not be perfect but I sure do enjoy trying to get there. Obedience gets rewarded but I believe obedience with a smile and a happy heart gets rewarded more fully. So smile!

God Loves You!

Heather

Monday, again.

I don't know what I have done right today but I have felt an abundance of the Lord's spirit. I have felt many promptings and have felt my patience lengthened beyond my limit. I have felt a peace and joy that I normally don't have with me. While teaching FHE this evening I felt again The Lord leading me as to what to say. I did not even have to pause, the words just flowed and it was really wonderful. So, for some reason The Lord walked beside me today. I may never know in this life why I needed it today but I enjoyed every minute of it.

God Loves You!

Heather

Fast Sunday

Today I am so grateful for the testimony I have of the mercy of God and His second chances. Today as I was listening to fast and testimony meeting (part of the LDS Sunday service on the first Sunday of the month. Today is not the first Sunday but our General Conference was so we did our fast Sunday today) I felt the spirit whisper to me again that Joe was being taken care of and that he was in much more merciful hands then down here. That he was loved and he was being taken care of. I am so grateful for that. I needed that. The Lord knows each of us and He knows when we need to hear from Him.

God Loves You!

Heather

Saturday

Today was one of those days that seemed so laid back. We got tons done but at a speed that was normal. Every time I wanted to stress about something The Lord just whispered in my ear that it really did not matter when it got done, to just enjoy the day and time I had with all my family. I did just that and guess what? The day was full of no yelling and time outs. It was full of fun and smiles and family. For anyone who knows me when I have project or task I only have one speed - keep up or get out of my way (mostly get out of my way, I go faster alone). So to kinda waltz through the day and to not be concerned about the look of this or that and to just enjoy the act of doing something instead of just enjoying it being done... It was nice. I know me and I know I will still have my Get Out Of My Way days but The Lord taught me something today I hope I keep with me. Not all the tasks got checked off but the major things got done and everyone had a good day. The Lord wants me to enjoy the journey and not just what I accomplished at the end. No matter how much I get done, it will mean nothing without happy memeories and happy people to be there with me when I get done.

God Loves You!

Heather

Friday

Family. I have seen many times today that The Lord has nudged me and reminded me how important family is and how much we need each other. Lunch with my mom, aunt and cousin; conversation about family that has passed on and what they were like with my mother while she cut my hair; dinner with my Mimi and having her here with us; sleepovers with aunt and uncle for my children. Family is the reason we are here. I love my family and am so grateful for them and ALL they do for me. I would not be who I am if not for all the great people in my life that I can not only call my family but am honored to call them my friends.

God Loves You!

Heather

Thursday

A sense of humor, in my opinion, is much needed to make it through this life. The Lord has granted me a good sense of humor and a family that can shine a humorous light on things. I am very grateful for this. It makes my days lighter and keeps my children alive. Today I am grateful for the humor The Lord lets me see in small things so the big things don't look so imposing.

God Loves You!

Heather

Wednesday

NOT going in for jury duty. Yes, I see that as a sign of God's hand. I love my country and I think trial by an unbiased jury of your peers is the best way we have on earth. I also don't mind doing my civic duty and serving on said jury. So when I was summoned I did not mind. But this week I have developed a head cold and was not looking forward to having to decipher truth from error when I had a hard time deciphering what was happening in MY life. So when I called tonight and they said the case I had been summoned for had been settled and I did not need to report to the court house I breathed a sigh of relief. I did not feel up to deciding anyone's fate when I just wanted to take a nap. So I am grateful for small but tender mercies.

God Loves You!

Heather

Tuesday with a birthday

The Lord is constantly reminding me that all my children are different and need to be handled as such. Today my little firecracker turned 3. Again The Lord reminded me just how fun she can be and how adorable. And He reminded me that though I need to celebrate every inch if growth and not dwell in the past, she will only be 'twee' for a little while. Everyday with my children is a new experience. Some quiet and tender, some not so much but each different. My cousin has a saying that I just love - days are long but the years are short. The Lord gave me these precious spirits to watch over and to teach but also to learn from and to love every minute. 3 years ago The Lord gave me the gift of life. A little bundle of life that gives meaning to my life. He has blessed me with that 4 times. With each bundle He is giving two lives a chance, theirs and mine.

God Loves You!

Heather

Monday Monday

I am grateful tonight for the Lord's counsel to hold Family Home Evening or FHE. I really enjoy the time we set aside each week to teach our children. We teach small and simple concepts right now that are age appropriate like bullying, nice words, obedience, proper prayer language, who you are, etc...
These simple principles hold so much power and every time we teach, we learn. These simple things need to be taught to adults more often than they are. Some adults need to go back to the basics of being nice and not bullying, using kind words, talking to our Father in Heaven like He is a real Father and not just going through the motions. My children amaze me with their sweet and innocent insight into things some adults have not grasped yet. I know that FHE is inspired and I am so grateful The Lord chose to let us know.

God Loves You!

Heather

Sunday

I married a great man. Today he kept the kids so I could sleep in as I have not been feeling well. I am so grateful to The Lord for helping him become the man that he is and also I am grateful The Lord led me to him. He is perfect for me and is everything that I always dreamed of. This is a time The Lord literally made my dream come true. I love him with all I have and am grateful I get him for all eternity.

God Loves You!

Heather

Saturday

Everyone has a conference story, I think, were they felt the speaker was speaking just for them. Well, today I felt that way. Elder Holland looked right into the camera and said one line and I felt the Lord said it right to me. I am so grateful for modern day inspiration and for prophets today. I am so grateful that we can listen and know the Lords will concerning us. The Lord still speaks to His people today. There is still a God in Israel.

God Loves You!

Heather

Friday

We went to the zoo today. I love animals! The Lord knew what He was doing when He made so many beautiful, interesting, totally awesome animals for us to enjoy. It was so fun to see the differences and similarities and to watch them play and interact and just be. I am so grateful He gave us companionship in the form of animals and for having a safe place like the zoo to see them.

God Loves You!

Heather

Wednesday and Thursday

Sorry, I was out of town and not with internet last night so tonight I will post for both days.

Yesterday The Lord blessed me with the oppurtunity to go up to the mountains and witness all the beauty of the change of season. I love the beauty of fall and the best place to see it is in the mountains with all those wonderful trees changing color. Another testament to me of Gods love for His children by surrounding them with such beauty!

Today, more accurately this morning, the good Lord saved all our camping stuff from getting wet by turning the down pour of rain to snow. The snow did not soak through our tent as the rain was trying to and so our stuff was saved. I prayed the rain would stop and we would all stay dry. I expected something different but it DID stop, our stuff was saved, we stayed dry and got some sleep and we got to see a beautiful snow fall in October. Prayers are answered.

God Loves You!

Heather

October has arrived

Today I am grateful for being able to stay at home. I get to stay at home with my children everyday. I get to walk them to school and pick them up. I am the last they see before they go in and the first they look for when they come out. The Lord has provided the way that we can survive with me being home. I am so grateful for that oppurtunity to be there for them.

God Loves You!

Heather