catch up

I seem to do a lot of 'catch-up' posts! It has been a busy time for us, and I know I am not going to remember everything I want to post! but, the first big news is I turned 42! I love the 40's. Every birthday in my 40's I have felt totally content and blessed! I guess this is only my third, but it has been totally different than I anticipated. I am not sure why I feel the way I do. I have always looked young for my age, but I have felt the last few years, that I was probably looking more my age, but on my birthday a lady overheard me talking to a friend about being in my 40's and she couldn't believe I was! a little inner shout hurrah! I have wrinkles. I have white hair, that I usually have covered with a beautiful blonde color...;). those few extra pounds seem even harder to get off....and sometimes I look REALLY ragged. but I feel soo content. and I am grateful for that. we went to Bellingham for the weekend. It was great spending time with my family. We went to Katelynn's gravesite --we share the same birthday. She would have been 9. I would love to see her as a 9 year old. I cried like a baby. Jessie told me I hadn't been out there enough, which is true. I did not know Katelynn very well. She passed on at 14 months. and we didn't live near her most of her life. but I was there when she had her heart attack, and I was at the hospital for the 4 days she was preparing to pass on. Those 4 days are days I will always cherish. She was such an example of LOVE, and COURAGE to me. She had a damaged body, she spent most of her life struggling to breathe and stay healthy. She hung on for a few days so her parents could come to a realization of what was to be. I think about that sweet little girl and the impact she made on my life in such a short amount of time. I love to see the twinkle in Shayne's eye when he talks about his little girl, and the reverence that overpowers Tanner when he speaks of her. Even Kaden was talking about her while we were there. Kaden knows her only through stories told, and photos shown. I am so grateful for the knowledge of eternal families, and the knowledge that Katelynn lives on.

While we were in Bellingham we were able to go to my old ward, which is one of my favorite ever. One of my friends spoke and she gave this quote:

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'
"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.
"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."
--- Elder Neal A. Maxwell

This quote comes from a talk Elder Maxwell gave 30 years ago at a BYU devotional!
http://tinyurl.com/5pekzb !
Doesn't it feel like what we are facing today? I am so grateful for a prophet of God who leads us. And, even though we aren't yet in the trenches, there are people who are not afraid to stand up to the truth, and 'stand the heat' for the cause of good. We are representing the Lord and truth, and how we handle what is going on will matter in the long run.


Our small town is feeling the need to downsize their spending. so, our newly elected mayor decided the best way to do that was through layoffs. He wanted to cut 2 positions at the fire department, 13 city jobs total. The last few weeks we have been worried about the stability of J's dream job, and the jobs of some of our friends and/or colleagues. It has been a very emotional few weeks, The idea, of fighting to save a job, knowing someone else we care about may lose his or hers has been horrible. Especially at this time, when the economy is slow. The funniest thing, is at the beginning of the year, J would either be laid off, or get a substantial raise. Isn't that crazy. Well, last night we got word that our Fire Chief found enough money to save the 2 jobs for the fire department. Hallelujiah! what a relief. I am very grateful to our Chief for saving the jobs. I am even more grateful for the knowledge that no matter what happened we would be fine. I was able to feel a peaceful calm, which is such a blessing. I didn't know what was in store, but I have had enough experiences in life to know that everything works together for our good. ..when we let it. This was so unexpected, something we didn't even consider. We never know when our lives are going to change drastically.

Kaleb started wrestling a few weeks ago. He had his first meet yesterday. J and I went on the bike. It was about 1.5 hours away, the sun was shining, and I haven't been on the bike for awhile, so it was a nice treat. I really like riding. and I love the fact that it costs much less to travel that way. The amazing thing is Kaleb weighed in at 125.2. I am pretty sure last year he wrestled at 107 and was quite a few inches shorter.

We have seen a bit of the good, the bad, the great and the ugly the last few weeks. We have been greatly blessed and I am so thankful. Looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas!