Another One Bites the Dust...

...and then there was one...

In October we painted pumpkins, a tradition we do rather than carve since carved pumpkins in this humid climate get all moldy super fast. Another tradition is to then leave the pumpkins out until they rot months later. I am quite vocal about my opinion of this, I find it silly to have Halloween decorations displayed in February! However, my parents like it, and they are after all the homeowners and can do whatever they want. (My pumpkin is never makes it that long.) When we painted the last set of them, my grandparents were in town visiting.

Here are our final products...




Well up till this week mom's and Grandma Kelm's pumpkins were still holding on strong. Yesterday we discovered Grandma's had split open and was oozing. ICK!

Now mom's is the lone pumpkin survivor. She wins! Go mom!

Patience Part II

January 1, 2010 I stood on a Mt. Bonnell waiting for the sun to come up. It was light outside and I was looking East not seeing anything blinding peeking over the horizon. I started to doubt it was going to happen. (Like one should really doubt the rise of the sun!) Then the sun did what the sun does best, it said-Here I Am! It was bright and colorful!




See why I have a lot to learn about patience? I was doubting the rising of the sun, like I missed it somehow.

2009 was the year of Taking Action. I rather enjoyed it and got to experience a lot of great things. This year so far I am learning to be patient. It is going to be a great year, I am excited and love the momentum I have right now. But greatness also comes with waiting. Preach My Gospel defines patience as follows:

"Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God's will and accept His timing."

I tend to get quite anxious at times, so I figured I certainly don't have the patience thing down. I know that what I am waiting for, but sometimes I loose sight of it during the wait and start to doubt that it is ever going to happen.

My friend Elizabeth sent me a talk by Neil A. Maxwell ("A" stands for Alliteration- if you don't believe me just look at his opening statement- pedestrian principle:patience) called "Patience" given at a BYU Devotional in 1979. I highly recommend it, highly! Just one paragraph to share and you can read the rest yourself. Elder Maxwell enlightened me on the fact that impatience is related to overriding another's free agency, or ability to choose. I had never made that connection. He said-

Patience is not only a companion of faith but is also a friend to free agency. Inside our impatience there is sometimes an ugly reality: We are plainly irritated and inconvenienced by the need to make allowance for the free agency of others. In our impatience--which is not the same thing as divine discontent--we would override others, even though it is obvious that our individual differences and preferences are so irretrievably enmeshed with each other that the only resolution which preserves free agency is our patience and longsuffering with each other.

Hmmm, very interesting. So really to help overcome impatience I need to consider needs of others. This has given me a lot to think about and more to work on.

This week I had an experience that tested my patience. I failed the test, but got something today that I wanted and has given me a fresh start at practicing patience. I like second (or 50th) chances. I want to try to learn more about being patient and longsuffering with others. Today, that is key!

Thoughts? If anybody has quotes, talks, or scriptures related to patience, I'd love to hear them.

Patiences Ultimately Leads To Hope

Last night I was studying patience. I love it when I remember something I read months ago and can go back to it and receive more light. Larry Hiller's “Hope: The Misunderstood Sister,” (Ensign, Jun 2009, 8–9) is an excellent article about Hope. He references Romans 5:3-5. Tribulation leads to patience, patience leads to experience, and experience leads to hope. Experiences shows us that God does come through for us, therefore we can hope for future blessings because we had the Lord by our side along other life challenges. I really like this poem included in the article. Enjoy!

Walking with Two Sisters

By Larry Hiller

Faith walks before me,
Holding up her lamp
As I try not to stumble in the ink-dark hours before the dawn.
Her light illuminates
One step and then another.
Beside me, Hope, arm linked with mine, encourages and steadies.
Sometimes in the tedium,
Distracted by the pain,
My mind begins to wander, then my feet. I hesitate.
Unsure, I look to Hope.
Her hand takes mine.
The touch reminds me of another hand held out to me,
One pierced and scarred
Yet oh so tender
Lifting me and blessing me when I had fallen and despaired.
Remembering,
I move ahead
Buoyed up by Hope, who sees the end with perfect clarity.

The Pampered Life!

Since the New Year I've been traveling around. I spent a week on a cruise with 4 fabulous women, and this week I've been in Utah visiting grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my brother. I have enjoyed myself very much and have overindulged myself. I am actually ready for school to start though and to get back into my own routine and cooking my own food.

Here are some of the highlights ...

I had 2 fabulous foods...Lobster Tail and Warm Chocolate Melting Cake...and I enjoyed them both while wearing a formal, diamonds, and pearls. Such a good life!




I got to stop at the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and visit Chichen-Itza (Mayan ruins). Sad thing was they don't let you climb on the pyramids anymore. Funny thing was Michelle and I wore out Take Action shirts and a vendor said to us- "Take Action man, buy souvenir". Ha! Almost made us want to buy something!


I enjoyed a yummy Pina Colada on the beach in Cozumel (virgin of course!).


I got to spend time with Michelle, Desiree, Flor, and Larissa!


Then it was on to Utah... I visited the Draper temple where I fell in love with the Celestial Room there. What a great experience I had! I enjoyed feeling just how much God loves me while I was there.

I've spent the rest of my time visiting cousins, cousins, and more cousins. My grandparents were wonderful hosts as well. I was lucky enough to have a breakfast taco breakfast waiting for me when I woke up this morning. Then of course Grandpa took me to a BYU basketball game tonight. We had lots of fun time together.

Back to the real world tomorrow night!