Saturday, May 19, 2012

Favorite poems


These are poems I’ve had since High School. I wrote some of them. These first six are some that my dad gave me in high school. They mean even more now that he is gone.

Keep Your Heart
Free from hate,
Your mind free from worry,
Live simply,
Accept little,
Give much,
Fill your life with love.
Scatter sunshine,
Forget self,
think of others.
--Jesse McDonald Wagstaff


Some murmur when the sky is clear
And wholly bright to view,
If one small speck of dark appear
In their great heaven of blue:
And some with thankful love are filled,
If but one streak of light,
One ray of God’s good mercy, gild
The darkness of their night.
“In palaces are hearts that ask,
In discontent and pride,
Why life is such a dreary task,
And all good things denied.
And hearts in poorest huts admire
How love has in their aid
(Love that not ever seems to tire)
Such rich provision made.”
--Shakespeare


Don't Quit
by: Unknown Author

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
 

The Victor

by: C. W. Longenecker

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't. 
If you like to win but think you can't, 
It's almost a cinch you won't. 
If you think you'll lose, you're lost. 
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will. 
It's all in the state of mind. 
If you think you are out classed, you are. 
You've got to think high to rise. 
You've got to be sure of your-self before
You can ever win the prize. 
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man. 
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

This Is The Beginning of a New Day

This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good,
but what I do today is important
because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever,
leaving in its place something that I have traded for it.
I want it to be gain and not loss; good and not evil;
success and not failure; in order that I shall not
regret the price I have paid for it.

'Unknown'


 

Friday, May 4, 2012

Cutting the tree 2011

















Miss Kyree, Miss Shayla, and Miss Sophie...part of my group..LOVE THEM!

That is one small dino elephant....
 Fifth Grade field trip to Thanksgiving Point...so much fun!
Ummm, Kyree?....

Bridger and Wyatt looking techno...

Bridger and most of Mrs. Root's fifth grade class...you're not looking too scared there Bridger :)
 Me with my beautiful sister at Janey's ninth birthday.
 Janey opening presents with Gauge by her side...it was a little chilly outside!
One of Janey's most beloved gifts came on her birthday. A letter from her Uncle Travis and  some of his artwork created just for her by him. She wants to be an artist too.....................................................
 Gauge is finished supervising and sees that Janey needs a little help opening her gifts :)
 The fun part of any party is playing with the cousins.
Playing in the house at Janey's ninth birthday party.

Stake Conference

As you've probably noticed, I haven't got the time I used to. My blogging  suffered a little once I started school at Utah State, and it suffered a little more once I went to work part-time, and then it suffered A LOT once I had full fledged teenagers! That is my explanation of why I am just now posting what I learned from Stake Conference clear back in March. (Like you needed an explanation, just get on with the posting, right?)

One of the messages that rang through my heart and my head was the fact that Jesus Christ lives. He loves me. He is my advocate with the FAther. He is the one who will help me get back to my Father in Heaven. That all sounds simple and nothing that hasn't been heard before but for some reason, tonight the significance of those facts just sank deep into my whole being. Knowing the Savior, what he is, who he is, what he did, what he continues to do...that is what makes all the difference. He is why I exist, why I keep going every day. He is the reason I am able to progress and the one who makes it possible for me to pick myself up and carry on when I get knocked down. Knowing the Savior lives and that he keeps his promises is why I do what I do and is where all that is good and true about me and around me comes from. He is the reason I have gotten as far as I have. The gospel changes everything; It gives meaning and purpose to everything I do...every day.

I also got the message that I need to have more of a balance between spiritual and temporal. If I have temporal on one hand and spiritual on the other, and if I contribute most of what I have--time and energy--to my temporal, then my spiritual side will suffer; worldliness will outweigh my spirituality. It's time for me to put my money where my mouth is...so to speak. My intention to study the scriptures, to go to the temple, and to pray more sincerely is good, but my spirit suffers when there is no action to go with that good intention. If the Lord is going to prepare me sufficiently for what will come, I had better get busy. He can't (won't) do it without me.

An added note on this second topic. Since conference I have really committed myself to getting my priorities straight and it is miraculous what I am able to accomplish now. Don't misunderstand me, my house is still a disaster most of the time and I don't have a lot of down time, watching movies and reading for pleasure have gone by the wayside, but I am able to get everything that is most important done and best of all I don't constantly feel on the verge of a breakdown!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Funny things

   So...I have been "getting after" my Janey lately because it seems like all she does is gripe and moan. To listen to her you'd think there wasn't a single good thing in her life. I challenged her to start noticing the good things that happen, the good things her brothers do, the fun things that happen at school, you know. Well, it has been amazing how difficult this little exercise has been for her. She really has to think in order to come up with something positive to say. The reason I'm telling you this is that about three days after I challenged her my eyes were opened....and....lo and behold, I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM! She does it because she learned it from me! Or maybe we both do it because we are human or we do it because of the type of personality we have or I don't know why we do it, I just know we do, but I had NO idea I was doing it. I have always thought of myself as a positive thinker and I am in some ways, but I really have to work at it and for some reason I don't always work at it as hard as I should at home.


   The reason I mention this, is part of the challenge I gave myself  was to start noticing and REMEMBERING the funny things the kids do every day. Part of remembering HAS to be writing things down because my rememberer isn't functioning at full capacity at present. Anyway, my first funny thing-- well actually it horrified me but everyone else in my house seems to think it's amusing--is that yesterday Bridger and Janey came in from outside and headed into Janey's room. I could hear them discussing whether she owed him two dollars or four. I was curious as to why Janey would owe Bridger money. My curiosity was soon satisfied when Bridger came down the hall holding all the money Janey had to her name and announced, in a proud, adventurer type of voice, that he'd just gotten four bucks from Janey because he....ATE AN ANT!! Like I said, I was horrified. I mean, who would do that? I was speechless but the first thing Rod asked him was, "Did you take its head off first?" WHAT?! His next question was, "Did it taste like lemon?" Cause apparently he's eaten one before himself. To this question Bridger responded, "I don't know, I didn't taste it, I just threw it down my throat."

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Valentines Day isn't about me...

As I started into my morning I realized something about myself...I am a Valentine's Day scrooge! I started paying attention to my train of thought and it was not pretty.  It went something like this..."I HATE Valentine's Day grumble, grumble, grumble." GRRR! Then...I had an epiphany. I was thinking about myself, and I needed to quit.  I started thinking outside myself and it was AMAZING! Valentines day could have a deeper meaning than I'd been giving it. I began thinking about love itself.  For one thing I'm grateful I have the capacity to feel love. I'm grateful for God's love and for the love of the Savior.  I'm grateful for the love of friends and how they lift and encourage me. I thought of the love I have for my family; brothers, sister, children... I realized that today I can share love with others instead of grumbling myself through the day waiting for it to end.  A couple of my favorite quotes/poems came to mind then when I started thinking of ways to show love to others today:
Keep your heart free from hate,
your mind free from worry,
live simply, 
accept little,
 give much,
fill your life with love.
Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others.
                             Jesse McDonald Wagstaff



They might not need me; 
but they might.
 I'll let my head be just in sight; 
a smile as small as mine might be precisely their necessity.
Emily Dickinson
 
Have a wonderful Valentine's Day...I'm thankful for you.
Love,
Susan