Hey there Delilah (I'm at the MTC)

To all my LDS friends, this is so funny! Its a must see!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1157595773724

will update more later!

Pay Your Tithing!

The economy sucks! I am sure that we have all figured that out by now. Most families (unless your filthy rich) are struggling right now to pay the bills, support their families, find work etc. Our little family has been no exception to that. Kenny works for a construction company, as most of you know construction means work is not always available and there are quite a few days that he has been told to stay home, due to there being no work for him. But I am truly thankful that he still has a job! At least he is making something. But as we struggle and most months I am stressed because I am not sure how I am going to pay the bills every time something happens and we have enough money to carry us along. A personal experience that I want to share in particular is this month we were struggling with finding enough money to pay our mortgage. It came down to the last minute and the pay checks just weren't enough. Kenny called me at work and told me that he had received a check from the Army for backpay that they owed him, and you guessed it, it was just enough to help us pay the bills. I can testify to you that this is because we strive to pay our tithing first every month. That is not something that is skipped over. We put our faith in the Lord and do all that we can with budgeting and watching what we spend, paying our tithing, attending church meetings, saying our prayers, etc. The Lord has definitely blessed us in this time of need and I guarantee that it will be the same for you if you heed his commandments and PAY YOUR TITHING!

Rely on the Lord and He will help you. As I sat through church pondering the past week, we sang "Come Unto Jesus" which seemed appropriate for my past week.

"Come unto Jesus ye heavy laden, careworn and fainting, by sin oppressed.

He'll safely guide you unto that haven where all who trust him may rest."

"Come unto Jesus from every nation, from every land and isle of the sea.

Unto the high and lowly in station, ever he calls, 'Come to me'"

I love church. I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have a testimony of this gospel. I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. I know that the Temple is the house of the Lord, and that we can go there to be refreshed and renewed. I am thankful for my temple marriage and that I can be with my wonderful husband forever. I am thankful for my husband and what a wonderful man he is.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday and always remember to say your prayers and thank God for your blessings!

8 in the morning

So it happened, the thing I have been dreading ever since we moved into this ward.  We changed to the 8am time slot.  I have to admit, I have been complaining and moaning and groaning ever since I found out that our stake changes times when school starts and that our next time slot would be at 8 in the morning.  For those of you that know me, you know that I am NOT a morning person whatsoever! And I had a hard enough time getting to church at 10am.  This means no more late Saturday nights for a while and getting used to a whole new schedule(can I just say I am so thankful I don't have kids that I have to get up at that time too!).  So we showered Saturday night (so as to sleep in as late as we could) and set the alarm for 7:00.  The phone on my alarm has been finicky lately and doesn't like to go off! And guess what! it didn't go off this morning either so we woke up at 7:30 instead of 7:00.  Still we hurried around and hustled and bustled so that we could make it to church on time! And can I tell you something! The Lord definitely blessed us for making the effort (and sacrifice for me) to go to 8:00am early morning church.  Today was also Fast Sunday, and the spirit was so strong! The testimonies of those in the ward touch my heart so deeply! I am so glad that I made it to church today! And will make an honest effort to make it on time (and hopefully even early) to church every Sunday!  It is getting a little better and we are getting to know a few more people, but I still feel lost in a huge ward! Maybe it will get better soon! School will be starting back here in a few weeks and I only have a year left before I get my bachelors! I am so excited! If I can just chug along til that point all will be better! 

Perspective

So its late and I need to get to bed as my husband is snoring next to me :) But as I met with a friend tonight and we unloaded all of our stresses and frustrations (trying to decide how to get our lives more organized so that we felt more in control and better about ourselves) on each other we came upon this quote which I love but completely forgot about.  Just something to think about.  I will update more soon!

"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums, the Lord would take the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

~Ezra Taft Benson

ADDIE!!!

So it has been forever! Most exciting news though is that we got a puppy! She is a black lab and we absolutely love her! We call her the terror cause she definitely is active and always wants to play, but we do love her! We also took her on her first camping trip, which is what these pictures are from! She did so well but was way dirty! haha she loved being out and exploring and rolling around in the dust! She found a patch of grass that she loved! She would go there to play with her toys, or just sleep! She definitely keeps us active, but is such a good dog.  She was already using the doggie door not long after we got her! She is already learning to sit and stay! We love the new addition to our family! Our friends Nate and Rissa have a lab just older than Addie and they love playing together!  That is the first picture that you see! Sorry it is so blurry but it is hard to catch them not moving!  Other than that life is the same, its a bit more busy with a puppy to take care of but we cant wait to see her grow up!