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Change    I've said it before and I'll quote him again, "Change is the only thing constant in our lives."  (Bishop Porter)  August 27th, Ryan will no longer work for HISD, but begin a new journey in an entirely different direction.  The challenges will be great, as the learning curve is quite large, but we feel confident in the Lord.  We feel confident, because we have prayed and followed the Spirit of the Holy Ghost to lead us and direct us here.  Too many things have happened for this to be coincidence.  Heavenly Father has answered our prayers verbatim.  We recognize that just because we are stepping in the right direction, it doesn't mean things will be easy.  Many rough and emotionally exhausting days lie ahead with frustration and a little gloom.  However, if we hold true to the fact that this is an answer to prayer, that we are seeking after a righteous desire, and our faith that the Lord will provide a way, then, He will make things happen.  He will not let us fail.  We submit our will to His, knowing that He will make so much more out of our lives than we could possibly ever imagine.  I'm grateful for this change in our lives at this time.  We are entirely blessed beyond measure.

222!!!

Exercise    This amazing thing we do with our bodies has the ability to change our moods, improve sleep and appetite, lift self-esteem, improve health, and balance out the chemicals in our bodies.  I'm grateful to have learned one more thing I can use as a tool to help myself, my family, and my children.  Exercise is a blessing indeed!  I feel happy when I exercise.

Version 221.0

Wisdom    It is a rare quality indeed to find an individual wise with experience and who can display it ever so humbly.  Perhaps, that's just it.  The wise know about humility.  I'm ever blessed to be surrounded by wise people.  Many of them tutor me on a daily basis and teach me the skills needed to progress.  One such person was listening to one of the temple presidency members' wife speak on Saturday night at stake conference.  Her motherheart was so inspiring and as she spoke, it was as if she was speaking only to you; yet, you knew the room was full of individuals thinking the same one.  Her love and level of charity was so developed and lit up her countenance.  Very inspiring.

220 Gracias

Family Home Evening    This is something my family does every Monday night.  That night is blocked off as family time to teach each other about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and spend quality time as a family.  This past Monday we learned about Samuel the Lamanite from the Book of Mormon.  We made crispy treats and stacked them up to form a wall, and we used a lego guy to represent Samuel.  Then, I told my kids the story from the scriptures.  It was so fun to see the excitement in their eyes and to teach them at the same time.  These are the little moments that I want to remember forever with a mental snapshot.

219 Hearts of Gratitude

Being Surrounded By Such Amazing Men    Because of our family's need to make a rather tumultuous decision that would change our very lives, we called on several close friends, who hold the Priesthood, to give us blessings before we finalized our decision.  It was such a spiritual experience to be surrounded by such worthy men, who love us and support us.  In addition, these guys gave us such great advice.  We definitely felt the love of the Lord and it drew us closer to each other.  There are still good people on the earth.  We are surrounded by so many of them.  What a blessing!

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Open Conversations With My Spouse    More and more I realize just how blessed I am to have a husband that communicates with me and listens to how I feel, but also tells me how he feels.  We have had some major decisions to make, regarding our little family, in the last couple of weeks.  He's listened to my advice, my thoughts, my desires, my worries, and my promptings, and he's shared all of his.  I am so blessed to have him as my helpmeet.

220 Thank You's

The Fastest Insta Care In Houston    I had a million things to do this afternoon during naptime and because we needed to get Ethan's foot x-rayed, most of them didn't get done.  However, I have to give MAD props to the Excel Urgent Care.  They had us in and out in a little over an hour.  That is fantastic!!!  It allowed for me to get so much more accomplished at home!  And yay for no broken bones.  Ethan is doing just fine!

219 Reasons I Feel Grateful

Parenting Books    I am reading a really great book about parenting right now called, Christlike Parenting.  If you haven't read it, you should pick it up.  The author uses all quotes from the Bible and his ideas and positivity are contagious.  I am only 36 pages in or so and have picked up some really great ideas to try!  I'm thankful I know how to read and that I have access to such wonderful information.

218 Blessings

AMAZING Friends    Ethan twisted his little ankle today and as a result, will not put any weight or pressure on it.  Because it happened while I was at the doctor and the sitter had no idea how it happened (He was playing with all of the other kids.), I decided to take him in.  He'd been crying about it for over three hours at that point.  I began calling around for sitters, but on a Tuesday afternoon, right around nap time and last minute vacations and such, it was really hard to find someone.  Finally, I decided to just pack up all three kids and go in.  Minutes after we arrived, my AMAZING neighbor and another friend both called at the same time and offered to come and pick up the older boys, so that they wouldn't have to sit for that long.  Ummm . . . have I mentioned that I have AMAZING friends!!  I am truly blessed.

217 Thanks

Missionary Opportunities    I know that Heavenly Father places us in the right place at the right time.  Today, I had an amazing opportunity to share information about the Gospel with my dentist.  There was discussion over the stain on the back of my teeth and he asked me how much coffee and tea I drink.  I told him that it's a religious thing; I honestly don't drink any, but I eat two cups of spinach a day.  He then asked if I was Mormon.  When I answered yes, he began asking me all sorts of questions about the Word of Wisdom, our standards, and the temple.  Never, in a million years, would I imagine sharing the Gospel with someone, while my mouth was numb to the point of drooling.  It was a really cool experience.  I'm thankful for missionary opportunities.

216.0

Numbing Medication at the Dentist    I seriously have such a phobia of the dentist now.  I can feel my breathing increase, my stomach feels sick, and I get major anxiety.  Today was no different.  I needed a deep clean--thanks to my lack of flossing enough.  Oh, I am so mad at myself.  At any rate, I am so grateful the dentist numbed my mouth.  I had at least eight shots and I could still feel some of the scraping.  We are so blessed with modern medicine!!!  And now, I will take some Tylenol before heading off to bed.

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My New Niece    Carly is her name and we are just tickled that she is here!!!  Wish we lived closer to Alaska, so that we could kiss her and hold her.  She's beautiful and hopefully, she will get to go home tomorrow.

214 Gracias!

Miracles    We often hear that miracles cease to exist and about people who have turned away from God, because they have suffered.  But the truth is that miracles still exist.

Ryan and I had the opportunity to witness several miracles first hand last week.  Ryan had promptings for the last several weeks to go visit a particular friend.  Our family had actually dropped off a treat to him and his wife Thursday evening, and we noticed things were a bit off.  Something wasn't alright.

Saturday, I took the kids to the zoo and children's museum, while Ryan attended the temple.  On our way home, he called me to tell me that he couldn't shake the prompting anymore.  He needed to visit this friend.

I should also preface this with the fact that several other friends have attempted to stop by to see this friend and many times, he has shut the door in their face, because he didn't want to see anyone.  That was definitely on Ryan's mind, as he traveled there.

What happened, though, is the miracle.  This friend let Ryan in and they began talking and ended up talking for a couple of hours.  Everything that we went through last year is just what happened to this friend.  What are the chances of that?

What's even more is that Heavenly Father was able to consecrate our suffering from last year and earlier this year for our good and others' good.  Ryan was able to relate so much to this friend, because he had complete empathy for him.

The next day at church, we didn't know if this friend would be in attendance or not, as no one has seen him in six months.  When we arrived, he was already sitting in the pew next to his lovely wife.  We immediately went over and hugged him.

As the meeting proceeded, the first speaker discussed pioneer events and such, relating to July 24th.  He gave a fantastic talk and it was wonderful, but the whole time, we had a prayer in our hearts that something would be spoken in relation to our friend that would lift him.

The second speaker said that she almost called the bishopric earlier that morning to tell them there was no way she could give the talk that day.  Every time she sat down to write her talk, she got the feeling she needed to talk about the love of God and the atonement of Jesus Christ and how trials can bless our lives and about her experience with clinical depression.  She ended up going with her feeling and she spoke for 30 minutes on the subject.  I happen to know this particular sister really well, and so I was hopeful that she would share her experience with depression.  She had alluded to it multiple times, but not in detail.  Again, we kept prayers in our hearts that she would communicate this.  Sure enough, the last few minutes of her talk, she shared this very personal trial.

What are the chances that this would happen on the only day that our friend attends church once in six months' time?  What are the chances that the particular speaker would have direct experience with the exact thing he was going through?  What are the chances that she would say all of the things he needed to hear?

Heavenly Father loves each of us as individuals.  He specifically orchestrated a sacrament meeting for one of his children just to let that child know that He is aware and cares for him.

Miracles still exist.  I know that as we keep our eyes open, that we can witness them each day.

213 Blessings

Sweating    There is something invigorating about sweating each day and knowing that you worked hard to treat your body right.  I've been following Hal Higdon's schedule each day in preparation for our marathon.  It feels great to know that I am accomplishing something and getting my body better in tune.  I'm thankful for sweating.

212 Reasons

Hope    I can do ANYTHING if I have hope, and thankfully, I've been blessed with an abundance of this attribute.  It is no secret that we are seeking new employment in an entirely new career path.  The process has proved taxing at times and a bit tedious as well, but I have felt hope throughout the entire time.  I'm so thankful for feeling this.  I know that something will work out, as we continue to put forth our effort.  I'm especially thankful to Heavenly Father for giving us so many opportunities, and a husband that will sacrifice so much for his family.  Ryan continues to work really hard in his current job, as well as search for a new one.  Thank you.  Thank you.

Version 211.0

Kneading Bread    I know I have gone off on this tangent many times, but there is just something about making bread.  The process is soothing.  The kneading is therapeutic and reflective.  The rising and leavening of the bread is miraculous.  I learned to make french bread this week.  While the taste wasn't 100% satisfactory, it still tasted really delicious.  And the crackle on the outside, while leaving the inside entirely chewy and soft was so pleasing.  I'm thankful for friends like Anneli Allen, Margaret Kartchner, Emily Williams, Ruth Bryan, and more who have helped supply my appreciation for this skill/art.

210 Thanks

Our National Anthem    I know my hormones are nuts, but I seriously can't help but getting teary-eyed when I hear our national anthem.  There is a sense of American pride, a sacred reverence and appreciation for those who have gone before us and paved the way, a love for God and all that He's done to establish and protect our nation.  We are so blessed to live in America.

209 Reasons I Feel Blessed

The Olympics    I've said it before and I will say it again.  We are borderline Olympic junkies.  We got to watch all of gymnastics and much of the men's swimming.  We've also watched some of the biking races.  LOVE watching the Olympics and seeing the world come together on common ground.

208 Hearts of Gratitude

A New Weight Loss Competition    I am so EXCITED to join a new weight loss challenge.  Ryan and I will participate in the Feel Great in 8 challenge by Tiffany Rudd.  It's going to be highly motivating and helpful for me to stay on track until near the time we run our marathon.  I'm thankful for things that help push me further to reach my potential.

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Making My Kids Smile    This has become my goal each day--to get my boys to smile.  I especially aim to do this on the hard days, when we have lots of tantrumming.  It makes a HUGE difference and allows me to let go of the emotion.