Validation

Found this on one of my mom's students blogs this morning.  I love it so much.  A little long, but worth it. Validation

Answered prayers

Today, (well yesterday really) I am thankful for answered prayers.  I am thankful for the times when the Lord gives me specific answers to my problems.  At times they have come as thoughts, like when I prayed strong and hard one night at a loss at what to do over my son's stuttering problems.  Before the prayer was finished, the thought came into my mind: read to him, have him read to you.  Very specific.  And as I did this I saw improvements.  The Lord told me right away what to do.  There have been other times where searching, praying, fasting, getting blessings and the like have drawn on, testing my patience and faith.  But eventually answers came.  Other times, like when my dad passed away far too young from cancer, the answer wasn't the one we all prayed for.  But even then, in those still moments I knew He had heard us, that He loved us still and there was a plan for us.  Most of the time the answers to my prayers and pondering come to me through the words of the scriptures.  The Book of Mormon is magic in this way.  If you are searching or struggling for answers or to know the will of the Lord in you life - immerse yourself in the scriptures.  Pray, ponder, repent, pray some more and read.  The Lord will tell you plain as day in the writings of the scriptures what you should do and how He feels about you.  It's amazing.

But this week I fasted and prayed for an answer and a thought kept coming to my mind.  It wasn't my plan.  It wasn't anything I had thought about, but it still kept nagging at me.  So I started investigating into the solution and one was laid out for me in a miraculous way.  I love my Heavenly Father.  I love that He knows me, listens to me and answers me.

Antibiotics and other little things I take for granted

I'm grateful today for antibiotics.  I'm so glad I live in a day where I can catch a sickness early, take a prescription and feel really good within 2 days.  What did the pioneers do when they had a UTI while crossing the plains?  Poor, poor ancestors.  I'm grateful that the Lord lets us live in so much luxury.  Even when I complained about being soo poor in school we were so rich compared to those early saints and what they had and what comforts they didn't enjoy.
I wasn't asked to grind up my china to put in the walls of the temple to make them shiny.  I wasn't asked to walk across the plains or give up all my possessions and family or burry kids along the way.  I'm asked to make some posters, get some speakers, arrange some music for a youth conference.  I'm asked to go to a lot of meetings:  meetings that are held in a climate controlled beautiful building where I am free to worship unafraid.   Really, I've got it easy.  I need to never forget that.

Generous Strangers

Yesterday I was thankful for the lady in line at Michaels who gave me an extra 40% off coupon because I was buying something big for Courtney's good grades and I don't get the paper and so I didn't have a coupon and I was going to put back my item and go home and search the internet for a coupon and then come back later and buy it. (wow really long sentence!)  She said, "I have an extra one."  She saved me $30.
It reminded me of the lady on the plane when I was heading back from Las Vegas once.  It was super turbulent and I got really sick.  The stewardess wouldn't let me go back to the bathroom - just handed me a bag.  I was sitting between two STRANGERS and had to throw up and throw up into a bag!  I was horrified.  I bent my head down as far as I could between my legs to try to spare my "neighbors" -  well, all of a sudden, I felt someone rubbing my back.  That stranger on the plane felt bad for me.  She didn't dry heave or roll her eyes or any of the things she could have done.  She just rubbed my back until I was done.
"When saw we thee a stranger...."

Lexi

Tonight I'm thankful for my sister Lexi.  She is something of a wonder.  I don't have the words to write how much I admire her.  She is an amazing mother and wife.  She has 4 kids -two of which are disabled.  I don't think any of us realize what her days are like.  I don't think any of us realize how hard it is.  And somewhere along the line she got all crafty.  She's really talented.  Today I got a box in the mail with a ton of paper flowers that she had made.  I told her how darling her wreath and garland were, but that it was too hard to make the flowers and I was burning my fingers off - so what does she do?  She makes me a ton of flowers.  And leaves.  I just have to go get the garland and hook them on.
Do you not realize how much she has to do in a day?  I can't even make it to the post office and my life is a piece of cake compared to hers.  How did she find the time to make me the flowers AND mail them.  Thank you Lexi.  Thanks for being AMAZING.  Thanks for taking your trials with your head held high and for being a great example to all the rest of us.  And thanks for making all those flowers for me.  Hug that sweet little Abby for me and give a big high five to those cute boys.  I love you.

So last night I didn't get a chance to write what I was thankful for because I was making Cream Brulee French Toast for breakfast.  Sounded so delicious but just ended up being suggary sog.  :(  Anyhow, if I could rewind to last night I would say that I am thankful for Blake.  He is such an amazing little kid.  He loves the gospel so much and has such strong feelings at such a young age.  He came home from church on Sunday and wanted to share a scripture with me.  He read to me the story of the Good Samaritan.  He talked about how sad it was that people just walked by.  Then I said, "We are having company over for dinner tomorrow, do you want to give this for a family home evening lesson?"  He said, "Sure."  Even though it was a new family in our ward and he didn't know any of them.  He then spent the day copying down the scripture on a piece of paper.  Then he found the picture of the good samaritan in the gospel art kit. He climbed up the counter and found a bandaid and  then he pestered me for a container that holds oil and wine to pour in his wounds.  The back of his lesson is the cutest.

He gave it like a pro. Asked questions.  Had volunteers hold up the "water bottle" (vile of wine) and the bandaid. He had someone else hold the picture.  I couldn't stop smiling.  What a great kid he is.  I know the Lord has amazing things in store for him.  I love Blake.

Mom's mission

New goal:  Taking this blog back to where I had started - writing on thing a day where I had seen the hand of the Lord in my life.
Tonight I talked to my mom.  She has been on her mission exactly one week and is in the MTC.  She is having the time of her life.  She and her good friend Tina are companions and they just laugh and laugh and are having a ball.  I am so happy for her.  I am so glad that she gets to have these great experiences and spend time doing what SHE wants to for the first time in at least 37 years.  Being a missionary is the best.  I loved so much of it, and when I had a great companion that I loved like Crossman or Takoaka Shimai it made it so much better.  I am jealous.  Such great things await her.  And even though I don't get to talk to her nearly as much as I used to....it's ok.  I'll give her to the Lord for a little while.  And in the meantime, I couldn't be more proud of her.

Little Lizzy

In thinking over my blessings how I saw the hand of the Lord in my life today I would have to say this: Lizzy. This morning we told her that we were going to see Megamind.She looked up and said, "REALLY?? YEA!!! AT THE THEATER??!!! YEA!" She was so excited! Later when we went to the movie she was dancing, loved the popcorn and the whole experience. I love the enthusiasm of a three year old. I wish that I had that all the time. I love going to the movies, don't get me wrong... but Liz just reminded me of my mom today and all that Jones enthusiasm and gush that pours down that line. I love you Lizzy.

Humane Society

Yesterday I caught the cat, kenneled it and took it all the way to 15th Ave and Hatcher. Is that bleeding heart enough for all of you? I even gave a "donation" to the society. Yesterday afternoon I got a call that I left my drivers license down there. It's only about a 2 hour round trip to go pick it up. Awesome. I needed it today, too, to go get my passport so that I can go to Mexico with all the Wellmans for Thanksgiving. It also happens to be our 15th wedding anniversary that weekend. So, if this delay causes me to get my passport too late and I can't go we will definitely know that NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. That has always been my mom's phrase and Jeff has always thought it was an awful thought. But the more I live life, the more I see how true that phrase really is. And if it's true enough for for a musical to write a whole song around it, then it must be true.
No wonder I hate cats.

Scary cats and crazy mothers

So. There is this freakishly ugly cat that has adopted my neighbor and in turn likes to hang out on my front porch. My neighbor has decided to feed this cat and so it has decided to stay. Now when I say I am not a cat lover - this is true. When I say I HATE the smell of cat pee - this is true. When I say that I haven't looked twice at this mangy cat - this is true. Blech. It is skinny and has oozy sores that oozed its ooze on my front chair. My mom went to pet it and it is missing half its front teeth. Blech. It is a disgusting cat. I personally think it might be a witch. But anyway...I digress. My mother is a cat lover. She has always had cats and will one day be one of those crazy cat ladies with 5,000 cats running around her house. And peeing all over her house. It will not smell nice to visit her....Again I digress.
Anyhow, here is the story at hand and the purpose of this blog post. Compassion oozes out of my mom like ooze oozes out of this cat onto my chair. Jeff told her not to feed that cat because he doesn't want it hanging out here. I think she triednot to feed it. But on the last day she was here I saw her sneak out front with something. I ran out after her and saw her giving that witch cat the leftover eggs from breakfast. She had the most guilty look on her face and the most sad one too. "Oh Mel, Look at how skinny he is! He is sick and skinny and needs food." Then she went on to quote some scripture that she embellished and changed to meet her needs, "When you have done it unto the least of these my creatures....." My mom sat down on my front driveway and petted and petted the witch until it purred and purred. Then it opened its mouth and tried to bite her. (That's how we know it is missing front teeth.) My mom could not NOT feed that cat. It isn't in her nature.
Tonight when I pulled into the driveway, that cat bolted off my porch and over to my neighbors. Right then I got thinking about my dear mom and how much she loves me and EVERYONE and every creature too. When we were younger she brought people home too. She is has had many people live with her. My cousin, another cousin's son...some kid who slept in our garage - Thomas, the list goes on and on. She is letting a couple and their daughter live in her house for free when she goes on her mission. She is always the one who became friends with the kids in her class that needed the extra love and attention. The elders in Rochester are going to LOVE her. She is so fun and so encouraging and so concerned about everyone around her. She has a gift. I love her for it.
Someday when she is gone I'm going to remember her sneaking out the door with food for that mangy cat and I'm going to wish that I can grow up just like her someday. I'm grateful for her example of always giving everyone the benefit of the doubt and not judging - just loving everyone. Thanks mom. You're amazing.
(And I still hope I accidentally run over that freaky cat. I have a long ways to go....)

It's Always Something......

This is me as Roseanne Roseannadana. I think I'll wear my hair like this to church Sunday.

Fat Hippo

So the other day I was in the pool with my two youngest. I decided to give them a ride on my back around the pool. Cody looked over at Lizzy and said, "Hey Liz, we are getting a ride on a fat hippo!" And I said, "Cody!!" and he looked at me and said, "A super fun fat hippo!"
Like my father in law used to say, "Kids, why do we have kids?"

The Prayer of a Child

Last night in Cody's prayer he said, "And please bless that we will have a good sleep, and that no one hucks a spear through our neck..."
I feel like I'm raising Chandler a second time over.

Great Grandma Paulson's Platter and my soul

If you could take a picture of my soul this last week it might have looked something like this....
What a hard week.

Tonight

Tonight somehow I ended up with some extra minutes and some boredom and just read a dozen or so blogs. This is something I gave up probably a year ago and now I remember why. I'm going to bed feeling like I'm not "Oh so clever." My house isn't "Oh so clean." I didn't make the "most amazing dinner..(here are all the steps)". I didn't snuggle all my kids on the couches all day and I actually spanked Lizzy for drawing all over her door with her new birthday crayons. I didn't go to the gym and do ten classes and then run five miles. I didn't take any amazing photographs and then spend oh so much time editing them in photoshop. (Ok, well I take THAT one back. We did take 37 amazing pictures and posted them on facebook. And we laughed our guts out while we were doing it.)
Anyway, to all the women out there who let their kids fix their own breakfast (and it wasn't hot and was full of sugar) and then selfishly went out to lunch with a friend, had fast food for dinner and then watched 24.... Here's to us!!