LDS Church - General Women's Mtg.

I don't know about you - but I need a spiritual pick-me-up!  And it all begins this weekend!

It begins with the General Women's Meeting this weekend.  There just might be cupcakes or ice cream, or both afterwards!  And it continues the following weekend with General Conference.  I love having the opportunity to listen to Prophets, Apostles and leaders of the auxiliaries speak.  I love reading over their talks after conference is over.  You should see my Ensign!  Lots of notes in the margins, lots of colors, lots of wondering what I  need to do to be better....

Won't you join us?
 Information here 

This is our time....

There has been A LOT going in with our family the last little bit. 

• A daughter and son-in-law moving, and another getting reading to move.  These are good moves, but nonetheless, if you have moved you understand some of the stresses involved with that.
• Some health issues.  The normal aches and pains for us old folks, and possibly some carpal tunnel that will need to be taken care of.  And maybe a herniated disk in my lower back that will need to be fixed sooner than later.  An eye condition that is being treated through an FDA approved trial.
• A new grandbaby!  
• Big sister adjusting to having a new little brother, a new house, and not having her special friend MJ just up stairs.   
• The lack of support from a boss and the possibility of losing a job.  
• Deciding that maybe we should just find another job rather than wait and see if his still exists in 6 months.
• Concerns over extended family members and struggles in their families: babies born, cancer, the need for a job, upcoming back surgery, knee surgery, recent back/neck surgery, other health concerns, not being able to have babies, etc.  The list goes on - and there are many situations I'm sure we are not aware of.

I found this on Pinterest and wanted to share it here.  I'm going to have it printed off on a large piece of paper to help us remember the positives.

The original link for this is here, at thegirlcreative.com

We have been overwhelmed with the love and support of family and friends.  Through the prayers and fasting of others - we truly have felt lifted up.  Our burden has been made lighter.  We can do this!  This is our time and we are going to move forward. 

Not feeling so bad....

Every time I walk outside, I try to pull a few weeds from the flower beds at the front of the house.  Sometimes I feel bad that my flower beds aren't as pristine and beautiful as some of our neighbors'.  But then I go to the kitchen to cook dinner or do dishes, look out the window......

.....and then I don't feel so bad!  

Those aren't bushes you see that are almost 6 feet tall, obscuring the hot tub.  Those would be weeds.  The grass along the back fence was recently attacked with a weed-eater as it was initially too tall for the lawn mower to handle, and the trees that are growing along the fence really shouldn't be there.  They are volunteers that never got pulled out when they were a few inches high.  

The fence runs right along a LOT of utility lines.  Can you imagine what those roots are doing?!

The front yard was killed off a couple of years ago - and now it's just weeds.   It's really quite an eyesore in our neighborhood.  

So - back to those weeds in my flower beds - I don't feel too bad about them!

Summer Reading

A friend let me borrow a book when she was done reading it.  She told me not to give up - she didn't really get hooked until about page 75.  Well --- I was hooked somewhere between pages 2 & 3!  This is the first book in a trilogy - "A Discovery of Witches" in the 'All Souls Trilogy'.  I highly recommend this book.  It is about witches, vampires and daemons.  But not like 'Twilight' or other juvenile books.  These are more grown-up books with a lot of historical references included. 

 

I'm just starting book two - "The Shadow of Night"  and Book three comes out in July!






I'm looking forward to some good summer reading.  I did find out last night that you can 'preorder' "The Book of Life" for your Kindle or other e-reader.  On its release date - it will be downloaded to your device.

Oh - and while I was browsing to get the pictures of the book covers - I saw that Warner Brothers has bought the rights to make a movie of 'Discovery of Witches'. 

Pollen. It's not just for early spring!

I was out working in the garden this morning and decided to go check out Mr. Pine.  It is covered with these:

Each of these yellow shoots is where the new branch growth is.  And that yellow stuff -- it's pollen.  I wish I could have snapped a good picture of what happens if you brush up against or shake a branch.  It's a yellow cloud of -- pollen.  I haven't been too bothered by allergies yet this year - just the last couple of days.  Maybe it's Mr. Pine.