Sorry I haven’t posted for a little bit.   I just haven’t felt like it:)  I know General Conference was over a month ago, but I was rereading some articles and had very vivid memories of my two favorites come flooding back.  Special Lessons By Elder Ronald A Rasband hit me particularly strong, not to mention left me in a puddle of tears.  Obviously, Gracie has a big part in my reactions to his words.  One thing I found great relief with…I have never looked at Gracie or looked at any part of my life and thought “why me?”  I think that’s a good thing.  Life’s a test, that is why we are here.  We shouldn’t expect easy roads, right?  They don’t help us grow.

My other thought came after being reminded of Christ’s words when he was here on the Earth.  “Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.” I thought about how amazing that must have been for people to bring their loved ones to him to be healed or blessed and how wonderful that would have been to be a part of that.  And then I realized she would be, just not right now – later.  That’s always good to remember.

My other favorite was, The Merciful Obtain Mercy  By President Uchtdorf.  ”When it comes to hating, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges or wantin to cause harm…Stop it!”  It was straightforward and it was simple.  No one’s perfect and we should love everyone, not just the people that are easy to love and faking it doesn’t count.  ”Because we all depend on the mercy of God, how can we deny to others any measure of the grace we so desperately desire for ourselves? My beloved brothers and sisters, should we not forgive as we wish to be forgiven?”  He doesn’t mince words and I appreciate that .

Just having a craving all to myself!

Try it!  Tell her, “Cheese!”  See what she does.

Things I learned for my 32nd birthday this year:

1.  Always carry a cell phone, especially in large crowds.

2.  Drunk guys make for a memorable birthday.

3.  There is NOTHING better than a hug for your birthday!

The beginning of our date took us to Old Town for the  Cinco De Mayo celebration.  I was the one wanting to go.  Poor Will couldn’t find a parking spot so he told me to hop out.  I told him I would wait for him, only he never heard me.  My phone had fallen out of my pocket at the house so there was no way for me to call him.  So I waited on the steps for about 45 minutes before he finally found me.  By then we had to push back our dinner reservation and it was time to go.  Maybe next year:)

Dinner was delightful.  I love Lou and Mickey’s.  This time it even came with a random drunk guy that crashed our table during dinner.  He sat down kind of next to me and we thought he was waiting for someone.  Then he left, came back and sat across from me, next to Will.  Then he started talking to me…like 10 minutes talking to me, about a whole lot of nothing.  I finally told him I had 3 kids and was planning on having more and he was gone.  If only I had mentioned that earlier.  The table was crickets and we heaved a sigh of relief as he stomped off.

Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday!  What a wonderful weekend.  I feel so blessed to have you all in my life!

Sorry, I’m a sucker for awesomeness, even it is hokey out the wazoo.  I’m a teacher, hokey is what I do!  Hudson’s school had a Science Night and they had Man vs. Beast.  The kids had so much fun.  They only made it to one building and came home with loads of stuff in their bag, not to mention the stuff they learned and those super awesome hats.  Let’s be honest, who doesn’t need an unusually large set of teeth labeled?!