I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last March I was preparing for Relief Society by reading the lesson to be discussed that day. It was in the President Kimball manual, and the lesson was called "Discovering the Scriptures for Ourselves". The first section of the lesson is a story told by President Kimball of when he attended a meeting and a speaker asked "How many of you have read the Bible through?" He shares his guilt as he thought about how he had read many books, but never read that holy book. After the meeting he went straight home and started to read, beginning with Genesis chapter 1. As I read this part of the lesson I felt prompted to set a goal for myself. I set the goal to read the entire standard works of the Church (The Old and New Testaments, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price) before my birthday in 2008. I had just over a year. I wanted to share the feelings that President Kimball had.

"What a satisfaction it was to me to realize I had read the Bible through from beginning to end! And what exultation of spirit! And what joy in the over-all picture I had recieved of its contents!"

I started immediately with Genesis on March 18, 2007 and today, March 5, 2008 I finished the Pearl of Great Price. I can honestly and truly say I feel as President Kimball did. I have joy in the over-all picture that I have seen. I have read the separate books of scripture before, in seminary or in religion classes at BYU, but I have never read them in this way, one after the other. I enjoyed seeing how each book so closely relates to the others, how the gospel is truly the same now as it was before the world was. Also, I know the purpose of the scriptures is to teach and testify of Christ, and yet I was still struck each day as I read and He was truly the center of what was written. The stories I have learned since childhood unfolded to me it a way that was unlike any other experience. They blended together as I read in a way that made each of them more clear.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed the Old Testament more than I thought I would, and all of the books of scripture were wonderful, but when I finished the New Testament and began the Book of Mormon it was with a great thrill. I felt like I was visiting with an old friend. It was all so familiar to me, and yet I learned much as I read that sacred and holy book once again. The scriptures are truly amazing and I have gratitude in my heart that I could read and be blessed with the Spirit so that I could learn from them.

I've been tagged

Here is it Alisha,

5 things I need to do today;
Get my kids ready for church early so I can be at choir on time
Make it through sacrament (in the pew is preferable)
DO my sharing time (twice) wish me luck
Find a time for a presidency meeting this week
Make a dinner worthy of a fast Sunday

5 Snacks I enjoy
Fresh fruit and veggies all cut up and prepped for eating
ice cream
chocolate
fruit snacks (for the kid inside of me)
Hot homemade bread

5 Places I have lived
West Jordan UT (Two addresses)
Augusta ME
Provo UT
Orem UT

5 places I have been
Belgium,Luxembourg, France (in one trip)
The Pacific ocean at Sunset (Lomita CA)
Disneyland
Camden ME (I can't wait to go back this summer)
Washington DC
Boston
(OK, so I got a little carried away on this one)

With a billion dollars I would pay off our house, redo the living room, put a lot away for the kids' college education, travel a little bit and probably buy more stamps and paper than I know what to do with.

5 jobs
1- TA at the BYU math lab
2 - Mom of the four best kids
3-5 - Various private tutoring jobs over the last eight years. I love it!

5 things you don't know about me (this is pretty hard)
1- I never held hands with any boy, or kissed any boy until Brian, who is my husband now. (Alisha, I wasn't trying to one up you but your things made me think about this thing that people probably didn't know.)
2 - Being around people gives me energy. When I go to Enrichment or stuff like that it takes me a couple of hours to settle down and be ready for bed.
3 - I have no self control when it comes to having sweets in teh house. They don't last long!
4 - When I start a book I never want to stop reading. Usually I will read constantly for a couple of days and finish it fast. I get so attached to the characters and the situations it is almost scarey.
6 - I do not mind a good cry from time to time. Crying is very freeing for me. I feel lucky to have a husband who doesn't think it is weird (or if he does he keeps it to himself).

Stampin' UP!

Last night my friend and I hosted a stamp party here at my house. We have been planning it for months and we had such a great time. Many friends came and Addie planned such great projects for us.



Rachel made great dip and salsa and we just had a good time. Here is my cookie recipe for anyone who is interested..

Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup shortening (I have started using 3/4 cup canola oil and it works just as well)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger

Mix everything, chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours. Roll into balls and roll balls in white sugar. Place on cookie sheet (don't flatten) and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. I like to bake mine for eight and they stay soft. Since they are better warm sometimes I make a batch and only bake a few at a time over a period of three or four days. Also, when I do bake a bunch I stick them in the freezer. Each morning I pull one out and stick it in Liz's lunch and it is thawed and soft by the time she eats.

Thanks to anyone who came last night and also to Brian, who is such a good sport when it comes to me and stamping.

Dream, Believe, Dare, Do

Here are the promised pics from the kids' school program. It was all based on a neat quotation from Walt Disney about challenging yourself and trying new things. Nathan and the kindergartners sang "When You wish Upon a Star" and Liz and her class sang about Christopher Columbus, the Admiral of the sea. The entire school sang a song called "Believe in Yourself" and we have heard it so much lately that Michael has started singing right along. As far as programs go it was pretty good, and I will admit that I became a bit lachrymose when I heard/saw my kids sing. For anyone who is interested we do have it on video!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know it has been a week since Valentine's Day, but the holiday is still causing excitement at our house. Liz and Nathan are still sorting and trading Valentines. At times they even share with Megan and Michael. Who new that MEg would be such a Spidermand fan! They would wear their red shirts/sweaters from Grandma Chantry everyday if I let them. They were so thrilled to celebrate this holiday in red! Thanks Grandma.

Jen is getting over being sick and Brian headed to Boston for a couple of days. The kids are loving school and life in general. It has seemed like a crazy week.

Double Good Day!

We knew that we didn't have school or work today because of Martin Luther King Day, but we didn't know we would wake up to at least four inches of new soft snow! We have a standing invitation from our friends who have a great snow hill and so we went out this morning and went sledding. The kids had a great time and Dad joined right in teh sledding and snow ball fighting. Mom and her friend Carrie took pictures. MEgan loved the sled, the snowballs and everything selse. Liz and nathan went up and down the hill countless times and Michael just enjoyed it all, even when someon slid into him and he landed on top of them. All he could say was, "Did you see that? That was cool!" All in all it was a great morning and everyone is enjoying a great nap.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

With new snow pants for Liz and nathan and seven fresh inches of snow this week it was time to go out and play! The kids had a ball. They stayed warm and dry despite their "falling" into the snow, running in the snow, throwing snow up into the air and best of all making a hill out of snow. IT was "huge" when they described it, but it was probably about eighteen inches. Megan was so cute. I thought she would stand around, but she joined right in. She tromped through the snow with grins and giggles. At one point she fell prtty much flat on her tummy and I thought she would be done, but after three failed attempts to stand up she succeeded and was just as thrilled about it all!