Day 124: Little Miracle, Big Comedian

Aha:

I had NO DESIRE to go to work today. I wasn't feeling great to start but Mondays are just not my favorite day. It took me a while to get out of bed but I managed. Then when I got to work I was really distracted and blue till about 11am. I went into the bathroom and said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to help me through my day. When I got back to my desk I felt refreshed and encouraged. My day improved (so did my health) and before I new it the day was over and I was headed home.

So thankful for these types of quickly responded to blessings. :)

Haha:

I just overheard Clinton talking with his mom about a patient he had who accidentally hit himself in the shin with a hammer. He didn't break anything but had a hard calcification under the skin (pretty painful).

Anyway, Clinton, in his best bedside manner said to the patient, "You know, there's been a lot of research about this actually and they say you really shouldn't be hitting yourself with hammers."

And then he started laughing.

His mom asked what the patient said and apparently he wasn't too impressed. lol

Day 26: Just as Good, if not Better, than the First Time Around

Aha:
While I was up in Grande Prairie, Clinton told me that my application status for my permanent residency had changed from "In Progress" to "Decision Made" and that a letter with further details would be mailed to us. Unfortunately nothing is disclosed on the website and lots of forums were saying it can take up to two months to hear from Immigration. I had decided not to worry about it and to just let the Lord handle it.
On our way out to supper I had Clinton stop at our post office box and lo and behold, what did I find?...my Confirmation of Permanent Residence letter from immigration! This is great news! It means that my next step is to cross the border back into the states, re-enter Canada, present my documents to Immigration and if all goes well, they'll grant me my permanent resident status!! Yay!!!
Prayers for this last step are still appreciated, but I'm sure everything will go fine. :)
10 years ago, almost to the day, Clinton was granted his visa to come to the states. And now, 10 years later, I've been granted confirmation that I'm welcome to come to Canada. It was a great birthday present then and it's a great birthday present today!!

Haha:
First thing I said when I woke up this morning:
"Well, it's official, Dani, you're 30."
I can't believe it.
Clinton sent me a text from work later in the morning that said:
"Happy 29th birthday (take 2)!!!"
This made me feel so much better.
Happy 29th birthday (take 2), to me!

Day 331: Bills and Thrills

Aha:
Found out that some lab work/tests/appointments we had/have to have, that we didn't think were going to be covered by insurance (and we've been praying for help in affording), were/are covered by insurance and we'll owe next to nothing!!!  Woohoo!  Yay for visible miracles!

Ha ha:
Clinton brought the mail in from the mailbox.
Me:  What kind of garbage did we get today (all we ever get is junk mail)?
He:  (Holding an envelope up to his forehead like he's telepathically reading it)  Bills.
Me:  (Laughing)
He:  (Holds another to head forehead)  Bills.  (Another)  Bills.
Me/He:  (Laughing)

Day 298: Waive Your Hands in the Air!

Aha:
A couple of weeks ago I blogged (found here) about a friend of mine who had someone in her family falsely accused of something terrible.  She called me today to tell me that she got the best anniversary present (today's her and her husband's anniversary)...their attorney called to tell them that all of the charges "will not be pursued" and have been dropped!!
This has been an unexpected and rather heavy burden for them to bear and I am so thankful that all of our many prayers for them have been answered!  What a wonderful blessing!!!

Ha ha:
Ok.  This person shall remain anonymous, but only because he/she asked to remain so.  Anyway, this person and I were driving down the street tonight and saw "Mickey Mouse" waiving at cars as they passed on the street.  He/she thought it was really odd to have Mickey randomly out on the street, waiving at people.  We went to our meeting and then came back the same way.  Mickey was still there.

Upon seeing him the second time, he/she started the following conversation...
H/S:  Really?  What is Mickey doing there?
Me:  I dunno.  Waiving?
H/S:  But why?  He's not advertising anything.
Me:  (shoulder shrug)
H/S:  I know it's not really him, but what's he doing here?
Me:  (LAUGHING!)  Of course that's not really Mickey!  It's only someone dressed up to look like Mickey!
H/S:  That's not what I meant!  I meant that it's not real.
Me:  (LAUGHING)  I know.  It's a costume.  You mean it's not "Disney's quality" of a costume.  Like it's homemade?
H/S:  Yes.
Me:  I'm so putting this on my blog!
H/S:  Fine.  Just don't say my name.
Ok.  I didn't he/she-who-shall-remain-nameless, but, man was that funny!

Day 270: Prayer Can Be a Real Mouthful

Aha:
Today's walk to work was accompanied by a General Conference talk by J. Devn Cornish titled, "The Privilege of Prayer".  I really loved hearing him speak so matter-of-factly about the blessings and benefits of prayer.  Here is a little excerpt that I thought would be nice to share--

"...[O]ur Heavenly Father loves us so much that the things that are important to us become important to Him, just because He loves us. How much more would He want to help us with the big things that we ask, which are right (see 3 Nephi 18:20)?....

Little children, young people, and adults alike, please believe how very much your loving Heavenly Father wants to bless you. But because He will not infringe upon our agency, we must ask for His help. This is generally done through prayer. Prayer is one of the most precious gifts of God to man.


We must not imagine that any kind of prayer, no matter how sincere, will be very effective if all we do is to say the prayer. We must not only say our prayers; we must also live them. The Lord is much more pleased with the person who prays and then goes to work than with the person who only prays. Much like medicine, prayer works only when we use it as directed."

Ha ha:
Writing the above made me think about our morning prayer the other day.  I had to be to work early for a meeting but was running a little behind so I ran upstairs with my breakfast in hand and asked Clinton to be the one to pray so I could finish eating.  I took a big, giant bite before he started and chewed through the whole prayer.  Not really sure how respectful or reverent it was (I mean, of course my mouth was closed and all) but I'm sure the Lord didn't mind too much.  I've talked to Him during showers and bathroom breaks, so I'm sure my eating breakfast can't have been that bad! :)

Day 268: Wake-Up Call

Aha:
It took everything I had to get up this morning.  There was nothing I wanted more than to call in to work and tell them I was taking a personal day however I knew I couldn't.  There was work to be done and I didn't want to just take the easy road and leave my coworkers hanging.  Well, I did, but didn't think it fair.  Anyway, I laid in bed for another 15 minutes or so and prayed and prayed that I would have the resolve (and good attitude) I needed to start my day at 6am to go into a job I didn't really want to be doing.  Fortunately my prayers worked and I got up and got ready and had a fairly pleasant day!  So thankful for the extra little push...I really needed it!

Ha ha:
I saw one of the nurses that I work with at Subway this evening while Clinton and I were eating supper.  Apparently she doesn't know me that well cause she said, "I'm surprised to have run into you here!"  Uh, I'm here at least once a week, shouldn't be that big of a surprise! :)

Day 248: Gifts of the Spirit

Aha:
I had some very important letters of correspondence to write today and I am very thankful for the gift and guidance of the Holy Ghost.  I wasn't sure what I needed to say but I felt calm, and as soon as I started to type, the words seemed to write themselves.
I know the Lord is mindful of me and I'm so thankful that He loves me enough to make my concerns His.

Ha ha:
Last night Clinton came to bed for prayer and scriptures.  I read for a few minutes and asked him to say prayer.  I was really ready to go to sleep but he was in a bit of a silly mood and kept stalling.  After several, "Please just say prayer"s, he finally conceded and here's how it went...
Clinton:  (imagine this in "typical" prayer intonation)  Beh dih pedehbeh beh beh, deh peh depha beh.  Deh meh meh di beh deh, peh deh di peh deh beh beh beh teh...di bah demh deh nemah nih, deh-meh.
I looked up after he finished and before I could say anything he said, "That was in tongues if you must know."
The thing was I pretty much knew exactly what it was he was saying just by the tone and rhythm!  Ha!  We laughed for a second before I made him say a real prayer.

Day 239: Let It All Out

Aha:
Someone in Relief Society today said that her mindset regarding how she says her prayers has changed since being married.  She said she grew up saying, "It's time to say a prayer.", but when she got married her husband's family taught her that you don't just say a prayer, you "say prayer."  She said that prayer isn't just "a something" you do, it's your time to communicate with God and that it should be treated as such.
I like this thought and it makes me reflect a little more about how my prayers are.  Are they just "a something" I do, or are they my way of really communicating with God?  I'm going to try to change my mindset too and make sure that I don't just say "a prayer" but that I really take the time to pray to my Heavenly Father.

Ha ha:
Here I was sitting at my computer getting ready to write this post and I paused for a second and asked Clinton, "Do I have anything funny to write about from today?" and a little burp slipped out.  I waited for his response and he started frantically waving the air away from him in disgust...I guess my burp stunk a little.
I started laughing and promptly started typing.  

Day 221: Can You Hear Me Now?

Aha:

A few weeks ago I realized that I was becoming rather lazy in saying my prayers.  I'd get into bed, read my scriptures, turn out my light, turn on my fan and THEN roll onto my side to say my prayers/fall asleep--not a good system for heartfelt prayers.  Anyway, I made a commitment with the Lord during sacrament meeting to be better about saying my prayers and asked for a "spiritual nudge" if I started to climb into bed without saying my prayers first.  Sure enough, last night as I was preparing to jump into bed and rest my weary head, I had a little reminder from the spirit to kneel beside my bed to say my prayers.  I promptly knelt down and was able to enjoy a few moments of reflection and connection with my Heavenly Father.  :)

Ha ha:

My cold is passing (yippee!) but my ears are still rather plugged--here's an example from today.

There are two docs in our office who know very little about computers and require a lot of extra help from the assistants whenever a computer issue arises.  One of my coworkers came back from such an occurrence rolling her eyes.  When asked what was wrong she said, "Oh, it's just Casper's junky shoes again."      "What?", I asked.  "What do his shoes have to do with anything?".  

"No," she replied, "not his shoes--it's technical issues again."

"Oh, that makes much more sense."

Ha!

Day 170: Crazy

Aha:
I feel so much better today.  After several prayers and apologies I feel like I'm in control again and can conquer the pre-menstraul witch.  I tend to struggle with my emotions around the arrival of Aunt Flo and this cycle has been no exception.  But I am so grateful for my patient and understanding husband!  He truly is the love of my forever and I am so thankful that he sees past my temporary bouts of crazy. :)  Love you H.B.!

Ha ha:
The moment I saw Clinton this afternoon his first words to me were, "Are you feeling back to normal today?"  Ha!!
Ya...my hormones have been that bad.

Day 141: "Personal" Revelation

Aha:
The topic in Sacrament Meeting today was on prayer.  One of the speakers referenced "prayer" from the Bible Dictionary.
As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.
I thought the part about making our prayers a correspondence with God in order to make our will match His for us, was brilliant.  I knew this of course, but the reminder was what I needed to hear today.

Ha ha:
I wore a dress today that has a tendency to be a bit static-y.  Anyway, I used the restroom and just as I was about to walk out of my stall I happened to notice something just didn't feel quite right.  I felt around my bum and my skirt was totally balled up around my rump.  Eesh!  I am so glad I paid attention to that little moment of discomfort; it saved me from a moment of BIG discomfort!!