Absenteeism, Back Pain and other Random Stuff

I've been absent from the blog world, at least last week.  You probably didn't notice much difference because of that lovely little thing referred to as 'scheduling posts in advance'.  Yeah, I was gone last week at girls camp.

Would you believe in the weeks prior to girls camp, I began having back problems?  I'm a wait and see kind of girl, thought it was stress, and Friday before Girls Camp, I figured it was time to hit the doc and have a look see.  There wasn't much he could do Friday afternoon with me leaving on Monday morning.  Thank goodness for some powerful drugs and an air mattress.  I did survive girls camp, though at times I'm not sure I was blooming where I was planted.  I was not able to go on the hike with the girls.  If I had tried, they very well may have had to two man carry me out of the mountains.

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No, I stayed back and relaxed with a friend who drove me to town for lunch and fresh salt water taffy in McCall.   Ah, the life...The girls were jelly, just sayin'.

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Now that I'm back, the doc sent me to a Chiropractor.  I've never been to a Chiropractor before...In all honesty I thought it was hocus pocus stuff.  But you know what, my spine is all out of alignment as well as my hips.  I saw the x-rays, it's true.  And if my doc recommends it and the insurance pays for it, it can't be a hoax.  And you know what else?  I felt amazingly better after one visit.  It is going to take more visits than one to fix my issues...dang desk job, but I'm on the track to recovery.  I only wish I had taken care of things earlier, then I could have gone on that hike.  See what I missed?  Aren't they beautiful girls?

And then after Girl's Camp was over, they released us all as leaders to give others the opportunity to serve.   I guess they thought we were tired after all that work...This release has been so bittersweet.  I'm not gunna lie.  But, well, I guess I can focus on my back recovery and maybe some things I have neglected around the house....

Fasting and Hunger Pains {MMB}

Today I posted an article at MMB on Fasting.  I'd be honored if you'd stop by and read a bit.

"Psalms 109:24 "My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness."

I understand the whole theology behind why we fast, but seriously that is a hard thing to do."

Read more here...

Miguel's Missionary Moment

I'd like to take a break today from Miguel's regular letters and share a video with you that warmed my mama heart and brought tears to my eyes.  One more year till Miguel comes home!  One more year until I can hug my son again...No one said it would be easy, but missing him has been dang hard...

If you like heart warming, then I promise it is worth your time.

Bloom Where You're Planted

Our theme for the Girl's Camp is  "Bloom Where You're Planted".  I recently noticed this pansy growing between the cracks of my concrete out front of my house.  My mind began to buzz with ideas.  This is a spiritual thought and handout I came up with for our girls...

For your weekend, I hope you can find opportunities to Bloom.

I'm linking up at 30 Handmade Days

 

Camp Crafts

As you are reading this, I am braving the wild as a youth camp counselor.  I don't know what scares me more, sleeping in a tent or being responsible for a group of girls.  I am working with an amazing group of women, though, so it should be fine....However, my idea of camping includes a hotel and jetted tub.  I guess I'll have to rough it.

One of my assignments was to be in charge of several camp crafts.  

This is what I came up with:

Boondoggle key chain with a dog tag engraved with our Camp Theme.  

You can learn how to make boondoggles here.

I thought these pop top bracelets were darling.  Ladybug and I had fun "practicing".  You can see some tutorials here.  I want to make more.  They are just fun!  I wore mine to work one day and got so many compliments?  Really?  Pop tops?  There are some great videos on YouTube.  I found this one helpful.

Even if you aren't a camp counselor, these are fun summer crafts that you may want to try on one of those long, hot days of summer.  Definitely a summer boredom buster!

I'm also linking up at 30 Hand Made Days

Miguel's Missionary Moment

"These past couple weeks have been pretty tough to be honest.  All of our investigators have been droping off and we are just trying to rebuild.  This week we killed it again on new investigators, it is just they are never there when we go back.  It gets really frustrating when you have a ton of appointments, and no one is home! Thats okay God gave them agency :p But anyway on my birthday our dinner canceled so we ended up spending dinner with some other Elders. They tried to make me a cake but they burnt it, it was super funny! We had to go buy a new cake mix and try again.  The second attempt was much better. It was a pretty funny night. 

This week we taught a guy named Joe who is really looking to change.  He is in AA and through the people he knows in the Church he really sees that the Church is good.  We are excited to meet with him again.  A family brought a friend to Church, as well, his name is Michael and he is 16. He is interested in what the Church is all about  and staying with them for the summer so we are going to go start teaching him tonight. We are on the rise now it was just a hard start to the week. We have an appointment that we actually have to go to in about 10 minutes with a guy named David who wants to see if he would allow his family to hear our message so we gotta go!!!

 

Elder Miguel Out!!"

 

3 nephi 11: 41 "Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth."

Fathers X 3

**Originally posted on 6/17/2012**

There are three very important Father's in my life.  Three Father's who I would certainly be lost without in my life.

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God the Father, my Heavenly Father.  He gave me life, he blesses me daily, he is my confidante, my helper and he loves me unconditionally and he touches my soul.  He gave His Son for me!

My Dad...He gave me life, too, along with my mom, of course.  Dad taught me to be spiritual.  He taught me love for God, reverence, the importance of honesty.  How to pay bills and balance a check book and think before I make decisions.  More importantly, he is my hero.

Then there is KT, who shows me how much he loves me by how hard he works to provide for us.  KT serves God through church service and the example he tries to set for his family and others.  He is helpful and understanding when there isn't a glorious dinner on the table every night.  Sometimes it's just grilled cheese and milkshakes, baby, so he'll pull out the griddle.   He may not have given me life like the other two fathers, but he saves my life every day.  Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in the dailies of life or the atrocities in society.  He gently talks me down, holds my hand or rubs my neck.

All three Fathers are an integral part of who I am, and without any of them I would feel entirely lost.  I am grateful this Father's Day for the three Father's in my life.

The following quote, I feel, can apply to any of these Father's.

"Trust your father. He is not perfect, but he loves you and would never do anything he didn't think was in your best interest. So talk to him. Share your thoughts and feelings, your dreams and your fears. The more he knows about your life, the better chance he has to understand your concerns and to give you good counsel."

~M. Russell Ballard~

A Tribute to Fathers

Were you blessed with an amazing father?
Let's treat the dads in our lives extra special today and always.

Summertime Lovelies

I love changing things up for the seasons in my home decor.  Summer is no different.  I go for simple changes.  Since Memorial Day, I have been leaning toward the Patriotic decor...we have Memorial Day, Flag day and Independence Day.  The following are some fun ideas I came up with to change up my decor and reflect our Patriotism.

I love changing up my mantle. A cute, seasonal printable is an easy change up.

I found this one here.

Red, white and blue table runner...

Easiest wreath EVER...I still feel like it's missing something.  Any suggestions?

Oh, and Happy Flag Day?

 

Schools Out...well for some

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School's out this week!  Such a relief to finally be on Summer Break...except I'm not...

I work in the office.  This is actually our busy time.  Office close out, registrations, records to be forwarded, students to be scheduled for next year, data entry.  It's different without the students around, but it is busy.

I'm taking a week off next week to be a camp counselor.  I'm not sure how much of a "vacation" that will be, but I am looking forward to spending time with Ladybug.

What kind of summer plans do you have?

 

Miguel's Missionary Moment

This is not Miguel - Source

"We killed it on getting new investigators this week.  Elder Loertscher and I found like 3 families we can start teaching, and hopefully a couple other people! There was this one guy who came to the door and I was like no way this guy wants to hear about the Gospel.  But when we started talking, he looked deep in thought about what we were saying.  Elder Loertscher said that he kept seeing him in baptismal clothes.  It was really good and we will be teaching him again on Wednesday.  Right after that we talked to another guy and Elder Loertscher decided when this guy totally wasnt listening to just hand him a Book of Mormon.  It was then that the guy talked about how he didnt understand the Bible and a bunch of other stuff.  He said we could come back after he flipped through the Book of Mormon. It was sweet!

 Elder Loertscher and I decided that when I get home I have to buy a motorcycle, and then when he gets home, we are going on a road trip, sound good mom? We are like best friends.  Some girl wrote him about how much she likes him so I am writing her back for him to see if she gets my approval.  hahhahahah! 

Oh on saturday it was about 8 at night and we were walking throught this neighborhood and there were theses grown guys playing wiffle ball so Elder Koertscher and I asked if we could play.  We killed it in our shirts and ties. I batted a perfect game...just placed it wherever I wanted! Elder Loertscher hit a grand slam, and at home plate he did a running gainer over it. By the way Elder Loertscher can do like 50 different flips! It'ss crazy! jAfterward the guys were like do you play flag football? We told them yeah we do, they took our number and then we placed two Book of Mormons We will go see if we can teach any of them.  They all have families they just play that stuff for fun."

 

3 nephi 5: 13 "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."

 

Elder Miguel out!

Dinosaurs and Landlines

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The other day we fully immersed ourselves into the 21st Century.  We've moved into the now, and dusted the past off our shoes and left it at the door.  Strange that I should feel some nostalgia over a landline.  We had that same number for 17 years!  But, landlines are dinosaurs!  I mean who has them anymore? Well, we did!

One day I realized that the only people that call on my landline are phone solicitors and my Mother in Law.  Who wants to pay an extra $60 per month for that?!  And the Mother in Law rarely calls anyway....So...

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KT had express instructions to let his mother know of the change.  First day disconnected...she calls!  Since she rarely calls, I sensed a bit of irony in that.  And the first thing out of her mouth?  "Why didn't you pay your bills?"  Um...yeah...

We did pay our bills, just opted for a little extra cash in our pocket each month...I mean we are paying to support a missionary.  We sided with simplicity...

For your weekend, I hope you can find something to simplify 

whether it is financial, physical or time.

Decorating with the Spirit and {MMB}

As a Woman, wife and mother, I have the awesome responsibility of setting the tone for my home.  The way I decorate and how I act can invite the Spirit to dwell there.  Today I am posting at MMB.  I hope you will join me in my debut article.

How do you set the tone in your home?

How do you invite the Spirit to dwell there?