HIKE

We've been to busy living to blog about it, but here is a little excursion I took some photos of! We went up Battle Creek Road in PG and went for a hike! We all loved it! The weather was perfect. Not to hot or too cold. We saw lots of neat things like fuzzy caterpillars, various plant life, dogs, people (yes the people were interesting too) and at the end a huge waterfall! It was really beautiful and we got good exercise. Josh carried my camera bag for me so I could take some pictures and not pass out before we got to the top :)

Grandmas House

We spent the day at Grandmas a few weeks ago and had a blast! Mckayla watered the garden, played in the pool with the neighbor boy Mason, played hide and seek with grandpa, enjoyed their neighbor Norm, and ate creamies. I took pictures of it all. We were all very happy :)

Sprinklers!

Words of wisdom

A good friend of mine had twin boys around march who were born very pre-mature and one of them passed away recently. Though it was not my child who passed away I have felt a very deep connection with the whole trial and have felt great sorrow for their loss.  She and her husband have shown a great deal of faith and humility through it all and I have been strengthened through their experiences and testimonies. It's obvious they have "planted their lives firmly on gospel soil".  When the trials came, they remained strong and were able to endure with the help of our savior.  It has been a good reality check for me and helped me to feel a lot of gratitude for my life and my abundant blessings.  She posted a link to this talk that she reads when she's struggling.  I copied and pasted a little bit from it that really spoke to me, but you can read all of it HERE if you like.

When we have trials in our lives we often ask "why me"? Well, I believe we all have our own set of trials to endure and that we must learn and grow into better people because of them and know that God won't give us more than we can handle.

Joseph B. Wirthlin Oct 2004 conference.

 Though our trials are diverse, there is one thing the Lord expects of us no matter our difficulties and sorrows: He expects us to press on.

Enduring to the end means that we have planted our lives firmly on gospel soil, staying in the mainstream of the Church, humbly serving our fellow men, living Christlike lives, and keeping our covenants. Those who endure are balanced, consistent, humble, constantly improving, and without guile. Their testimony is not based on worldly reasons—it is based on truth, knowledge, experience, and the Spirit.

Some think of enduring to the end as simply suffering through challenges. It is so much more than that—it is the process of coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him.

Mckayla Speaks

 Upon waking from her nap today, she smelled a cake baking and says knowingly:

Oh, it’s cookie time! It’s so good! I love it!

Some new scrap pages

Digi scrap is awesome! If you're interested there are a lot of wonderful free downloads at Shabby Princess.