The future of this life has long been declared. The final outcome between good and evil is already known. There is absolutely no question as to who wins, because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard. The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down here on the field trying to decide which team's jersey we want to wear.
--Jeffery R. Holland (i think)
A friend shared this with me awhile ago. I love it. It is so clear, but we sometimes forget that if we don't put on the winning jersey, we, by default, put on the losing one.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam!
About a month ago I was released as the stake young women's president. Finally you say! After 6 years I either finally got it right, or the stake presidency has given up on me. So many emotions traveled through my head in the last while. I really thought it would happen last year, but when it didn't I just kept on going. A lot of people have asked me if I am so relieved? And I guess I am, but when you do something that is so much fun and have really good people to help you, it doesn't really seem that difficult. Now, don't get me wrong, there were plenty of times that I was a basket case. But as I look back over things, it was a really great experience, and I learned so much from so many people.
I think the thing I will miss the most will be my counselors. We started and ended together and I have come to love them and it has been a true joy to get to know them. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that I didn't know either of these women when I asked for them as counselors. That just testifies to me that Heavenly Father knows each of us so well, he knows who and what we need. It didn't take long for me to realize these two women had talents and qualities that I lacked, but were needed in our presidency. I have come to love and appreciate them so much. They have been wonderful. They have been great examples to me, and so supportive, even when it meant sewing over 100 "great ideas."
One thing I learned is that each young woman is so different, and requires different types of leaders. I truly believe each ward has the best leaders for their girls. And as girls change, so do the leaders, to those who can best help each girl. I know I have a very boring teaching style, but hopefully I have able to reach someone, and other people have touched someone else.
Another thing I have learned, and I am sure I will have to continue to relearn, is that Heavenly Father is in charge, and we just need to have faith that it will all work out. We just have to do our best, and keep going. There are so many other things, I could go on forever. But it has really been an amazing journey, and I am so thankful for those I have worked with, and learned from.
But for now, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam! And I look forward to a new experience with three year olds, and I am sure I have great things to learn from them.
Good Things:
1. wonderful people to work with
2. learning
3. new opportunities
I think the thing I will miss the most will be my counselors. We started and ended together and I have come to love them and it has been a true joy to get to know them. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that I didn't know either of these women when I asked for them as counselors. That just testifies to me that Heavenly Father knows each of us so well, he knows who and what we need. It didn't take long for me to realize these two women had talents and qualities that I lacked, but were needed in our presidency. I have come to love and appreciate them so much. They have been wonderful. They have been great examples to me, and so supportive, even when it meant sewing over 100 "great ideas."
One thing I learned is that each young woman is so different, and requires different types of leaders. I truly believe each ward has the best leaders for their girls. And as girls change, so do the leaders, to those who can best help each girl. I know I have a very boring teaching style, but hopefully I have able to reach someone, and other people have touched someone else.
Another thing I have learned, and I am sure I will have to continue to relearn, is that Heavenly Father is in charge, and we just need to have faith that it will all work out. We just have to do our best, and keep going. There are so many other things, I could go on forever. But it has really been an amazing journey, and I am so thankful for those I have worked with, and learned from.
But for now, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam! And I look forward to a new experience with three year olds, and I am sure I have great things to learn from them.
Good Things:
1. wonderful people to work with
2. learning
3. new opportunities
Monday, October 3, 2011
alive!
Yes, I am alive and well. Just needed to take a hiatus. And now I am back to an occassional blog. My G tells me I really do need to update, "How else do I know wh
at is in your head?" I suppose he could actually talk to me! But, since we don't have time for that, I guess I better write! So, it is going to take me a bit to get you all up to date on the happenings at the K home. No, no order, just random as usual. So let's start with some recent senior pictures of B. She tells me we still need to do the straight hair take, but for now...curly. Enjoy!
Good things:
1. someone who cares what is in my head
2. some sort of journal for my posterity
3. pictures
P.S. I am having some technical issues...
Friday, July 15, 2011
Whew!
Things have been a bit crazy for me, but I think I can take a quick breather before soccer starts. Let me start with Young Women's Camp. ( Yes, I am STILL in the stake young women's)
In April, the camp director had knee surgery, but would have plenty of time to recover to attend camp. Then she got blood clots, and the medication made her sooo sick, all the time. Then her knee wasn't working properly, and I didn't think she could traipse all over the uneven ground, so I told her I didn't think she should come. I know she really wanted to be there, and didn't really like the idea of not going, but she needed to take care of herself. I felt so bad for her, but couldn't make her well. That was about 1-2 weeks before. The week before one counselor had an outpatient surgery, and the other took a son to the MTC and became a Grandma. I currently do not have a secretary. So I did what I could. Because of the really wet winter, the camp was still under 5 feet of snow on Memorial day, so we were a little unsure if we would be able to get in at all. At this point, I knew that somehow, it would all work out to how it needed to be. The Saturday before (June 25) the priesthood went in and shoveled out the amphitheater, and it was determined we were a go for the next week. I went up and Monday, and it was beautiful. It was beautiful on Tuesday morning...And then the rain came, and came, and came. Because of the snow melting from the rain, we had streams everywhere! We decided about noon to send everyone back home. (3 hours) I, of course left my rain gear home, and resorted to a big garbage bag. At one point, I could wring water out of my sleeves, and with a cap on my head, water was running down my back. When we were finally packed, and everyone out of the camp, I got in my car, about 2ish, and it was 46 degrees...Needless to say, my hands were frozen. Once into cell range it was decided to go home and let me meet with my counselors so we could regroup. We came up with a new plan that would enable us to accomplish what was needed, and redo the schedule with rotations for classes, etc. Two wards went to Fort Churchill that night, where the plan was to meet the next morning and continue camp. At 6:15 on Wednesday morning, I got a call from a ward who spent the night, and it was pouring rain, the clouds looked to be settled in, and the weather looked like rain until evening. So after many more phone calls, everyone was set to meet at the church nearby and we would "play it by ear!" Since I was scheduled to teach a workshop, my good counselors put me in a room, and took care of everything. And I do mean everything. They were able to get everyone situationed AND get the 4th year girls of on a hike that they came up with out of the blue. It was pretty chaotic, but they had it all under control. By dinner, it had cleared up, so we moved to camp after dinner, and the evening went according to plan. The next day we were able to go on hikes, okay, maybe they were just walks, but we still went. That evening we had testimony meeting, and things ended well. I think.
The most interesting thing about all of this is that I knew it would all be okay. Yes, I was stressed, and probably more that a little bit crazy, but I knew it would be what Heavenly
Father wanted it to be. I don't know why all of this happened, but it did, and it must have been a lesson that I needed to learn. Even with all of my control issues, I learned that I can only prepare and do so much, and whatever is going to happen will, with or without me. Maybe if we would have followed my original plan, we would have not had the experience that we needed to have. Will I still feel the need to control every little detail....probably, but if it doesn't happen, it will still be okay.
I just have to mention, that everyone was so incredibly flexible and understanding, and really went the extra mile to help out in whatever way they could. I work with amazing women and am so grateful for there goodness. I could not have done it without them! Okay, the stake presidency and our high councilman were really great too. I am so blessed to work with such great people, who put up with me.
Stay tuned for youth conference!
Good Things:
1. Knowing it will all be okay
2. Amazing people to work with
3. Not letting the camp director come...She would have for sure fallen and hurt herself in the muddy mess.
In April, the camp director had knee surgery, but would have plenty of time to recover to attend camp. Then she got blood clots, and the medication made her sooo sick, all the time. Then her knee wasn't working properly, and I didn't think she could traipse all over the uneven ground, so I told her I didn't think she should come. I know she really wanted to be there, and didn't really like the idea of not going, but she needed to take care of herself. I felt so bad for her, but couldn't make her well. That was about 1-2 weeks before. The week before one counselor had an outpatient surgery, and the other took a son to the MTC and became a Grandma. I currently do not have a secretary. So I did what I could. Because of the really wet winter, the camp was still under 5 feet of snow on Memorial day, so we were a little unsure if we would be able to get in at all. At this point, I knew that somehow, it would all work out to how it needed to be. The Saturday before (June 25) the priesthood went in and shoveled out the amphitheater, and it was determined we were a go for the next week. I went up and Monday, and it was beautiful. It was beautiful on Tuesday morning...And then the rain came, and came, and came. Because of the snow melting from the rain, we had streams everywhere! We decided about noon to send everyone back home. (3 hours) I, of course left my rain gear home, and resorted to a big garbage bag. At one point, I could wring water out of my sleeves, and with a cap on my head, water was running down my back. When we were finally packed, and everyone out of the camp, I got in my car, about 2ish, and it was 46 degrees...Needless to say, my hands were frozen. Once into cell range it was decided to go home and let me meet with my counselors so we could regroup. We came up with a new plan that would enable us to accomplish what was needed, and redo the schedule with rotations for classes, etc. Two wards went to Fort Churchill that night, where the plan was to meet the next morning and continue camp. At 6:15 on Wednesday morning, I got a call from a ward who spent the night, and it was pouring rain, the clouds looked to be settled in, and the weather looked like rain until evening. So after many more phone calls, everyone was set to meet at the church nearby and we would "play it by ear!" Since I was scheduled to teach a workshop, my good counselors put me in a room, and took care of everything. And I do mean everything. They were able to get everyone situationed AND get the 4th year girls of on a hike that they came up with out of the blue. It was pretty chaotic, but they had it all under control. By dinner, it had cleared up, so we moved to camp after dinner, and the evening went according to plan. The next day we were able to go on hikes, okay, maybe they were just walks, but we still went. That evening we had testimony meeting, and things ended well. I think.
The most interesting thing about all of this is that I knew it would all be okay. Yes, I was stressed, and probably more that a little bit crazy, but I knew it would be what Heavenly
Father wanted it to be. I don't know why all of this happened, but it did, and it must have been a lesson that I needed to learn. Even with all of my control issues, I learned that I can only prepare and do so much, and whatever is going to happen will, with or without me. Maybe if we would have followed my original plan, we would have not had the experience that we needed to have. Will I still feel the need to control every little detail....probably, but if it doesn't happen, it will still be okay.
I just have to mention, that everyone was so incredibly flexible and understanding, and really went the extra mile to help out in whatever way they could. I work with amazing women and am so grateful for there goodness. I could not have done it without them! Okay, the stake presidency and our high councilman were really great too. I am so blessed to work with such great people, who put up with me.
Stay tuned for youth conference!
Good Things:
1. Knowing it will all be okay
2. Amazing people to work with
3. Not letting the camp director come...She would have for sure fallen and hurt herself in the muddy mess.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Lots of udating...
Although I am really far behind on things, lack of updates has not entirely been my doing. There for awhile, I was unable to get into my blog. Not really sure what happened, but I was finally able to merge a few accounts and email addresses, and now I am back!
A few of the highlights in the last month:
I got the garden planted about 10th of May to ensure a better garden than last years June planting. Went on vacation, to come back to all plants I set out frozen black! The seed all did fine, and the plants are now planted again, with the hope of survival. It has been cold and windy for a very long time. I usually try to go without the air conditioner until after Memorial day. This year, I turned the heat back on for the third time the Saturday before Memorial day. But the weather changed quick, and the air came on Sunday.
G and I went to Phoenix to witness his brother graduate with a master's degree. All the siblings were there. We decided to extend the vacation and celebrate 21 years of marriage! We had a nice relaxing time. We stayed at a fun Hilton that had a great little water park included in the price. One of our favorite things was floating the lazy river. We were pretty lazy ourselves. We read, listened to music, slept, went to a baseball game, did a little shopping, enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine, and ate some yummy food. Why does it always come down to food for me?!
The next weekend we went to the state track meet in Las Vegas. B, who is a first year tracker, qualified in two events. Her relay team took 2nd, but ran their best time all season, and was very very close to beating the school record. She also qualified in pole vault, being seated 4th, but she did not end up making height once there. She was very frustrated, but did great. She was the first to ever qualify for pole vault in the high school, and tied the school record. She is looking forward to beating it next year. While we were in Vegas, we visited our friends the Brummets and had a great time.
I never wrote about it, but D was selected to go to All State Middle school choir! So I went with him in early april. It really is amazing the sound the directors can get to come out of a bunch of jr. high students. He really enjoyed it, and they sounded great. Unfortunately, G couldn't be at the concert because he was at a school board conference in Washington DC. D also played 6 on 6 soccer with the big boys this year. 7-12 grade. Wow, what a difference that what he was used to. But he did well with his team getting 2nd place, and learning from the older kids.
Memorial Day weekend was a perfect weekend! K (and our friend Cory) came home for the weekend on the spur of a moment, and we just enjoyed being together. B had a recital on Friday night, and she sang "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera beautifully! We slept in, had a late breakfast, did not much of anything, and then played games and went to dinner. Sunday we did church, and went to visit Brett and family. Monday we got K off and enjoyed a day at the park playing, visiting, and eating with friends. Came home, and then enjoyed more family with a campfire and smores. I think this was the first soccer or track free Saturday since March!
This last weekend, we spent with more family. This time from my side. My nephew just got home from his mission in Chile. I saw everyone in my family but 2 brothers. That is pretty good for us. But I still missed them. It was fun to hear of his mission experiences and testimony. We also got to hear more of what Mom and Dad are doing on their mission. They seem to be enjoying it, but both said it is hard work! That says alot...because they are some of the hardest working people I know.
I am so blessed to have such great family and friends. I would be so sad without these relationships, because they really are what matters most!
Good things:
1. 21 years of marriage...how can I really be old enough for that?
2. knowing that relationships with those you love can last forever
3. recognizing people make me happy
A few of the highlights in the last month:
I got the garden planted about 10th of May to ensure a better garden than last years June planting. Went on vacation, to come back to all plants I set out frozen black! The seed all did fine, and the plants are now planted again, with the hope of survival. It has been cold and windy for a very long time. I usually try to go without the air conditioner until after Memorial day. This year, I turned the heat back on for the third time the Saturday before Memorial day. But the weather changed quick, and the air came on Sunday.
G and I went to Phoenix to witness his brother graduate with a master's degree. All the siblings were there. We decided to extend the vacation and celebrate 21 years of marriage! We had a nice relaxing time. We stayed at a fun Hilton that had a great little water park included in the price. One of our favorite things was floating the lazy river. We were pretty lazy ourselves. We read, listened to music, slept, went to a baseball game, did a little shopping, enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine, and ate some yummy food. Why does it always come down to food for me?!
The next weekend we went to the state track meet in Las Vegas. B, who is a first year tracker, qualified in two events. Her relay team took 2nd, but ran their best time all season, and was very very close to beating the school record. She also qualified in pole vault, being seated 4th, but she did not end up making height once there. She was very frustrated, but did great. She was the first to ever qualify for pole vault in the high school, and tied the school record. She is looking forward to beating it next year. While we were in Vegas, we visited our friends the Brummets and had a great time.
I never wrote about it, but D was selected to go to All State Middle school choir! So I went with him in early april. It really is amazing the sound the directors can get to come out of a bunch of jr. high students. He really enjoyed it, and they sounded great. Unfortunately, G couldn't be at the concert because he was at a school board conference in Washington DC. D also played 6 on 6 soccer with the big boys this year. 7-12 grade. Wow, what a difference that what he was used to. But he did well with his team getting 2nd place, and learning from the older kids.
Memorial Day weekend was a perfect weekend! K (and our friend Cory) came home for the weekend on the spur of a moment, and we just enjoyed being together. B had a recital on Friday night, and she sang "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera beautifully! We slept in, had a late breakfast, did not much of anything, and then played games and went to dinner. Sunday we did church, and went to visit Brett and family. Monday we got K off and enjoyed a day at the park playing, visiting, and eating with friends. Came home, and then enjoyed more family with a campfire and smores. I think this was the first soccer or track free Saturday since March!
This last weekend, we spent with more family. This time from my side. My nephew just got home from his mission in Chile. I saw everyone in my family but 2 brothers. That is pretty good for us. But I still missed them. It was fun to hear of his mission experiences and testimony. We also got to hear more of what Mom and Dad are doing on their mission. They seem to be enjoying it, but both said it is hard work! That says alot...because they are some of the hardest working people I know.
I am so blessed to have such great family and friends. I would be so sad without these relationships, because they really are what matters most!
Good things:
1. 21 years of marriage...how can I really be old enough for that?
2. knowing that relationships with those you love can last forever
3. recognizing people make me happy
Monday, June 13, 2011
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