New calling!

Sunday Oct 18th I was released from my calling as Compassionate Service Coordinator (right at the 1 year mark!) and extended the call to serve the YW! 

I'm so excited to work with the young women! They're so bubbly and energetic and full of faith! I'm nervous about being their Personsl Progress coordinator, but I'll do my best! 😉

My not-so-little man...

Growing older is bittersweet! It's so exciting to look back and reflect on how far our children have come- see their development and growth. To see them grow into each new age and adventure. 

But it is bittersweet because they only experience each age once, it happens so quickly. 

My little man, my almost NINE year old made cookies to help me prepare to have the missionaries over! He loved it, and really did a great job! 

Swimming at Nana and Papas!

Emery and Daddy

Too many times we've gone swimming and he's had to miss it.. So glad Daddy was able to join in the fun!! 

My eternal family. ❤️

Logan, my fishy! 

Phillips Phamily Cabin Trip!!

Mapping out the way to the Cabin. The cabin belongs to a sweet friend who met Daniels parents in Hawaii while they were serving together.

Pretty GREEN nature!!

The cabin! 

Rocking chairs on porch decks looking out to nothing but green... Bliss.

The grounds are SO enchanting.

Our room! 

The separate garage out back...

Emery and Logan went s t r a i g h t for the swings... which is ironic since we have swings at home. 

This sweet little shed was not what Emery imagined.... 

It's a doll house!!!

She calls it "Emmy's House." Ha!

I spy a handsome little blonde...

They converted the separate garage into the ultimate game room!!!

...complete with a Home Theatre system!

Dan and Aiden playing darts!

Nana, Emmy and Logan watched a movie!

Winnie the Pooh in style.

Then upstairs is an attic

The kids wanted to sleep here, but I didn't like the idea...

Little window.

Miss E swinging away

Since we were the first to arrive we had Nana all to ourselves!

My crazy hubby and I

Embracing the day of rest...

"Sleep is my favorite and my best." --me

Embrace the day of rest. Rest is something I've done A LOT of lately. And I have to say, too much rest isn't advised, and bed rest is absolutely mind numbing... but rest is not something we should fight against- it is something we NEED. It is something we should embrace.

In my current chapter of life I am on the go from the moment my eyes open at 6:15 in the morning, till my eyes close around 10 o'clock in the evening... At night I feel I could use a day of rest, and yet, during the craziness I feel like I'm racing against time. There's never enough if it!! There is always something that needs my attention. Someone that needs me right now. I love it. I love being needed. I love that I have the answer they need. I love being depended on. 

But I don't love being exhausted by the time hubby gets home. I don't love being at the point of "running-on-fumes" by bedtime. I love using up my "full battery" because I feel accomplished, but I use it up too soon I think. Do I need MORE energy?
Do I need a pill?
Do I need "all natural green tea energy caffeine sugar yards yadda supplements?"

 "Our bodies need us to recognize the need for rest (not using stimulants to keep our bodies running.) We don't need caffeine, we need time." Yes! 

Time to rest.

Time to rejuvenate.

Time to heal.

Time to refocus.

Time to calm.

Have you ever gone for a walk, or a drive, or taken a long bath and afterward you feel like a huge weigh is lifted? 

When I'm in the thick of the day- usually right around dinner (homework, Scouts, Therapy, Dinner all crammed in this delicate time frame)  is usually when I begin thinking about caffeine, and it's usually to distract from what I'm doing. Or not wanting to do. Or distract me from thoughts of failure "If I'm having this hard if a time- I must be doing something wrong!" 

But, I don't need caffeine or "supplemented energy." 
 I need rest! Mental rest. Even if just a few minutes, in a bathroom, to read a verse. Say a prayer, stop and count your blessings. Stop and reflect the positives. 

We cannot keep our minds so strung out all the time. 

A lesson I'm learning and reminding myself over and over is: "We don't have enough time or money to do everything-- that's why it is essential for us to choose what we do with our time and money."

{We women learn very quickly the necessity of choosing wisely how you spend you money. I know I learned this importance of the VERY early on!!}

 And your time! There is a limit. there are only so many hours in a day- and it will never change. We know this, and yet we forget that our bodies have limits. Make the most of your day. Make the most of your time this month. This year. This life! Choose wisely what to do with your time.

This world we live in, steps in and convinces us that "we only live once!" "Eat what you want!" "Dress how you want!" "Speak how you want!" "Be yourself!" "Be different!" "Be unique!" "Be you!"

What???

The world is constantly looking for "new" and "different." Don't follow the world, they're constantly searching... That will not only be exhausting, but also a serious waste of TIME!

I'm rambling-- but it's therapeutic, haha!

Make time for yourselves as you prioritize you time.
Go to bed knowing you didn't do everything- remember that you cannot do everything- and be proud of what you decided to spend your time on.
And remember also, especially on this day of rest, to give your bodies the rest it needs.
Early to bed, early to rise.

Happy Sunday!

Embrace the day of rest! 

Pray, He is there...

"Counsel with the Lord in all thy doing, and he will direct thee for good;  yeah, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day." Alma 37:37

I am grateful for prayer; to be able to communicate with our Heavenly Father. On any day, at any time. To be able to ask and receive answers; to be able to plead, and receive help. To be able to humbly ask, and be guided; to sorrowfully repent, sitting on the mercy seat, and be forgiven.

This morning, and really these past few days I've been especially grateful (and honestly, especially more conscious of my blessings.)

I'm grateful for my blessings. My temporal blessings, my spiritual blessings, my physical blessings, and for blessings I received that I may not be aware of. 

I am grateful to have a husband in this life. I'm grateful to know he loves me, even on my lowest, grumpiest, selfishly moody days. I'm grateful for his patience. I'm grateful for his kindness. I'm grateful for his wisdom. I'm grateful for his companionship. I'm grateful for the priesthood. I'm grateful to have the priesthood in our home. 

I'm grateful for our experiences. I'm grateful to learn life lessons by his side. I'm grateful for our trials. I'm grateful for our family. I'm grateful for our children. I'm grateful for what they give me. I'm grateful to be able to give to them. I'm grateful to have them home. I'm grateful to be able to learn how to teach them. I'm grateful for the desire I have to try my best. To give them my best efforts. I'm grateful to be able to meet their physical needs. I'm grateful to feed their spiritual needs. I'm grateful we are raising them within the church. I'm grateful for the good habits we're striving to instill in them. 

I'm grateful for revelation. I'm grateful for spiritual revelations. I'm grateful to have a prophet and apostles. I'm grateful to hear the revelation they receive. I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon. I'm grateful for the experiences documents within. I'm grateful to know what the prophets before my time experienced. To know what they prayed for. To know what their struggles. To know their fears. To know their testimonies. 

I'm grateful for my past, my childhood, my upbringing. I'm grateful it wasn't perfect. I'm grateful for the adversities I faced. I'm grateful for the struggles I endured. I'm grateful for my parents. I'm grateful to know they were not perfect, to know they struggled; to know they tried. I'm grateful to know the bitter. To have lived in bitter for so long, that the sweetness is delicious beyond compare. I am grateful to have learned lessons in my youth. To have understood life without the gospel. To understand how lost the world truly is. I am forever grateful to not be lost! I am forever grateful for temples. I am forever grateful to know I am sealed for eternity to my husband. I am forever grateful to know I am seed for eternity to my children. I am forever grateful to know any future children I beat with be sealed to me for eternity. I am forever grateful for the trust I have in my Heavenly creator. My Heavenly Father. I am forever grateful for the patience, the mercy, the forgiveness, the love, the joy, the life, the time He has given me. I am forever grateful that He is in control.

"Trust in the lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6