Come What May And Love it

I am not sure that anyone really reads this, but a good portion of why i do this blog is for journaling purposes. This is a video I came across after a long hard day. Sometimes there is tough stuff in life. Sometimes there are tears, but it is good to know that if we endure it well that those tears will be turned into tears of joy and magnified 100 times to tears of Joy. I am not sure that I always endure it well, but I am working on it.



http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/videos/come-what-may-love-it?tabId=beliefs&index=1&autoplay=true

Day 2 Passing by Chicago

Day 1 trek back to Maine

Oh, What do you do in the Winter time when all the ground is WHITE?

Well you can:

Shovel the snow.

Make snow angels with your little sister.

Get swept away in BMT (Big Metal Thing) Avalanche...

... or just pout because you have sunk into the deep dark depths of the deep snow drifts.

Other Things you do in the Winter time

Believe it or not, when I have a little time I like to do crafts. This is my latest indoor adventure. I made my sisters coasters for their apartments for Christmas. These are fun. It is as simple as finding a tile you like, a few calendar pictures the right size, pasting them and then painting a matte or a shiny glaze over the top. I also did small ones that were refridgerator magnet size. Those are fun because you can get the pictures easy off the back of the calendars. Elise, since I believe you are one of the people who occationaly checks on my blogging efforts, this is what we are going to do for your birthday, so be thinking about what you would like.

Another thing to do in the winter time is BAKE!

Contrary to popular belief I can actually cook. I may have lost the art somewhat because of my absence from a kitchen for over 6 months. However, when I have some real extra time I do like to fiddle. (At Kieve I was always saying I would make bread, cake, or cookies but never really did.) Well here it is GLUTENOUS FREEOUS SUGAR COOKIES!!! It has been over a year since I have enjoyed the taste of sugar cookie dough as I clear away the edges of the cut outs. It was sweet!!! I had a sugar cookie a few weeks ago, that was not gluten free, but lets not go there.

Baking

Cooling, look how many there are. Yum yum.

The waiting place, just a pit stop before the cream chese icing is made.

Cream chese icing in multi colors. All the family enjoyed this delectible treat and they said they tasted as good as regular NON-GLUTENOUS sugar cookies. I guess life aint so bad gluten free!!!

Elise, this random picture is for you. You will know what it is all about!

Christmas Day in Arizona

Today was a wonderful day in the White Mountains of Arizona. It truely was a white Christmas in the high mountains where my grandparents live. I love it here and am glad to be where it feels like Christmas. The thing that I loved most about this Christmas was that there was not much money to give presents this year. I spent a great deal of time in the Home-depot researching remodeling skills and supplies and in my basement crafting presents for peopl. I love that my gifts had a great deal of me in them. I gave a lot of my heart this year. It has been fun!!! This will be short, but I hope to write a list tomorrow about all the many things which I am so grateful for because they have been on my mind.

Grandpa and Christmas dinner preparation

This is a magnet I created as a gift. It was my favorite

Picture and it reflects what I have to say in the next paragraph.

For now I am just so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and that he gave me the most monetarilly inexpensive gift, but yet the most valuable gift one could recieve. He suffered for my sins, pains, and sorrows; and he gave me the hope that I will be resurrected as he was. Not something that could be bought or purchased from a store shelf, even though those things have their place. I love Christmas and it's true meaning!!!

These are just pictures of the fun I had with te culinary arts of Christmas dinner. Most moms teach their children not to play with their food, but I quite enjoy it so I do play with my food on occation.

It's the "little" Things

Today I went to a 4th grade classroom. They were so fun. It amazes me how easily they show appreciation. I was only a part of their lives for a day. I do everything I can in that day to help them feel they are loved and important, but I just never would expect to make much of an impact in a days time.

Well, it turns out that they just melted my heart today!!! It just goes to show that the little things in life really do have a great impact. "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass."