Day 263: Warm Fuzzies

Aha:
I was contacted by a friend of mine out of the blue yesterday and we talked on the phone for well over an hour.  Our conversation was all over the place, but it was so nice to just sit and chat.  We live a long ways from each other but I am so thankful for technology that allows us to stay close.  Thank you Larinda, for thinking of me and I will love you forever!

Ha ha:
The weather here has been AMAZING!!!  75 degrees yesterday and I was stuck in my office.  That is, until I told everyone I'd "be back in a minute" and then I went outside, strategically dodged the goose poop and sat on the sidewalk to bask in the warmth of the shining sun!  Oh, it felt so good.  The best part?  25 minutes away from my desk.

Day 262: What a Relief!

Aha:
My visiting teachers came and shared a brief message with me (and my hair client--see below).  I thought I'd have a quick copout and copy/paste this spiritual thought for today...
Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president, said: “As daughters of God, you are preparing for eternal designations, and each of you has a female identity, nature, and responsibility. The success of families, communities, this Church, and the precious plan of salvation is dependent on your faithfulness. … [Our Heavenly Father] intended Relief Society to help build His people and prepare them for the blessings of the temple. He established [Relief Society] to align His daughters with His work and to enlist their help in building His kingdom and strengthening the homes of Zion.”¹
I know that I am thankful for RS in my life!  I have really come to depend on my "sisters" here in Wisconsin while being away from my family back home and am so thankful to know that no matter where I am in the world, I can always depend on my RS sisters!

Ha ha:
I had a client come over for a hair cut/color on Tuesday.  Towards the end of her appointment I heard our back doorbell ring and noticed it was my visiting teachers.  Feeling embarrassed that I'd forgotten about scheduling an appointment, I apologized.
Me:  I'm so sorry.  I don't even remember finalizing this.
She:  That's because we never did.  Sorry to just show up on you.
Phew!  We laughed and then they shouted-out the lesson while I finished my client's hair--blowdry and all (fortunately she was LDS too).

Day 261: Terms of Endearment

Aha:
I would just like to take a second and publicly state how thankful I am for the people in my life.  I have had many people stop me to ask how the adoption process is going and even though my answer's been, "There's not really much going on now.", their responses are always so positive and encouraging.  Some have either adopted (or are also hoping to adopt) or work in foster care and really know what this process is like, others are people who have been able to have children on their own but still want me to know they care.
Thank you for thinking of us, thank you for praying for us and thank you for continuing to do so!  Hopefully someday we'll be able to declare to the world that we "finally have our baby!", but for now, it feels good to declare how thankful we are to be surrounded by such wonderful people!
Thank you!

Ha ha:
I eat a huge salad as a part of my lunch every day.  Many moons ago, the delivery guy happened to come when I was eating and said, "Wow.  That's a big salad."  One of my coworkers told him that it's the reason they call me "Big Salad" (even though they didn't).  Anyway, now every day when he delivers our packages he says, "Hey, Big Salad".  He's super nice and all, but it drives me a little crazy.  This sparked a conversation though about the "nicknames" we'd been given when we were younger by kids at school, you know, the kind that made/make you think, Oh, yeah, that was REALLY clever!  Although we couldn't stand to hear them at the time we had a good laugh over them today.
Here are some real "originals" for my name:
Daniel Son (from Karate Kid)
Oh, Danny Boy (sung, of course)
Dan-Yell/Dani-Yell
Dani yelly, Dani yelly with the pink and purple belly (not ok to hear unless it was from my mom)

Day 260: Giving Our All

Aha:
One of the sisters in our ward gave a talk on the Atonement and something she said really stuck out to me.  She said, "What is it that God needs from all of us?--Just that, all of us."
We can give our all and he will make up for the rest.

Ha ha:
We recently had our dishwasher fixed and have used it twice.  Each time it's been used Peter stops what he's doing, his ears start twitching, he stares in the direction of the kitchen (from the living room) and barks softly or cries.  We reassure him that it's all OK but he can't relax.  Poor thing!

Day 259: Getting War-mer...War-mer....HOT!!

Aha:
Clinton and I woke up at 6 am this morning so we could get down to the temple and back home before the day was totally gone.  Our trip was wonderful!  I absolutely LOVED being there!  After the temple we stopped at the Distribution Center to get new garments (yippee!!), then at the grocery store and then came home.  What a great day!  We laughed together, had some insightful gospel discussion and just really enjoyed our time together!
When we got home I realized I couldn't find my keys.  I had been all over the place today!  So, I said a little prayer and kept thinking to check the bag of new garments.  I looked in mine and it wasn't there.  I looked around the house and the car and still couldn't find them.  I called the temple and the grocery store and no one had them.  Again, I thought to look in the bag of garments and this time took the extra step to check Clinton's bag too...sure enough, there they were!!  I grabbed them, said a quick, "Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!" to the Lord and ran downstairs to tell Clinton.
My need was fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but the Lord knew how important this was to me and answered my prayer!

Ha ha:
Clinton and I ran to get ice creams cone from McDonald's this evening.  I stayed in the car and blasted the heat while Clinton ran inside to buy the cones.  As soon as he came back in he handed me my cone and turned the fan way down.
Me:  Hey!
He:  It's too hot in here.
Me:  Ohhh, I feel like I'm in heaven.
He:  Well, it certainly feels like we're close to the sun!

Day 258: Telling It Like It Is

Aha:
My niece recently posted on FB that a 14-year-old girl from her school committed suicide due to bullying.  My niece said, "I didn't know her well, it's just sad she couldn't see past 14".  I did not know the girl or her family, but my heart broke some.
Today's General Conference talk was "Love Her Mother" by Elaine S. Dalton and I feel like the following quote is an appropriate response to this tragedy.  She said:
This morning I would like to speak to our sons and to all fathers. How can a father raise a happy, well-adjusted daughter in today’s increasingly toxic world? The answer has been taught by the Lord’s prophets. It is a simple answer, and it is true—“The most important thing a father can do for his [daughter] is to love [her] mother.”¹ By the way you love her mother, you will teach your daughter about tenderness, loyalty, respect, compassion, and devotion. She will learn from your example what to expect from young men and what qualities to seek in a future spouse. You can show your daughter by the way you love and honor your wife that she should never settle for less. Your example will teach your daughter to value womanhood. You are showing her that she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father, who loves her.
Though the majority of my nieces are still quite young, I want them each to know that they are a daughter of God.
To My Nieces (and Any Other Girl/Woman Who Needs a Reminder:)
Girls, you are loved by God and He knows the desires of your heart.  He is your father and wants you to be happy.  He is always watching over you and will help you through rough times and will rejoice with you in the better times.  There is nothing, NOTHING you could EVER do that would make Him love you less and you can go to Him for ANYTHING.  You are precious to Him!  You have heaven in your genes and are destined to greatness (yes, life does continue on past middle school/high school and only gets WAY better!).  Be patient with the trials of life and know they can make you stronger if you turn to Him for strength.  I pray for you often, that you'll have strength to be good examples to your friends and that you'll know you are loved by this Aunt that lives so very far away.  People can be jerks and say horrible things, but you must be stronger than their words and remember that you are worth more than words can describe!  I love you so much!  I consider you each "my little girl" and I hope you will each never, ever forget that!

Ha ha:
Riddle me this #1--
What's brown and loose and comes on/out suddenly?
"Explosive Diarrhea"
Riddle me this #2--
Who came back from the bathroom at work today and (for some reason) felt compelled to admit to having the above to her coworker?
"Me"
Why do I do this??

Day 257: Moments of Enlightenment

Aha:
Another great day of listening to General Conference talks while walking to/from work.  Today's gem is from Elder Robert D. Hale's talk, "Waiting upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done".

What, then, does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end.

To wait upon the Lord means planting the seed of faith and nourishing it “with great diligence, and … patience.”¹⁷

It means praying as the Savior did—to God, our Heavenly Father—saying: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.”¹⁸ It is a prayer we offer with our whole souls in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ....

When I was listening to this, I of course thought of my own trials and how hard they can be to bare and was looking for some uplifting words to inspire me to persevere.  Then this next bit came along:
Every one of us is more beloved to the Lord than we can possibly understand or imagine. Let us therefore be kinder to one another and kinder toward ourselves. Let us remember that as we wait upon the Lord, we are becoming “saint[s] through [His] atonement, … submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father.”³⁶
The part about being kinder to one another and ourselves really stuck out to me.  We all have our own problems, but we ALL have problems.  Each of us is going through something difficult and if we can be a little kinder to those around us, in addition to being kind/patient with ourselves, I think the burden of "waiting" could be lifted some.

Ha ha:
I was on the phone with a friend of mine this evening and our call had some little interruptions from her kids.  Here were a couple of my favorites...
Friend to toddler:  Nipple!  That's your nip-ple!
Friend to toddler's older sibling:  No, no.  You don't touch it.  Leave her nipple alone.
A little later...
Friend to oldest son:  Hey!  You stop that.  Do I need to tell Mr. Smith that you're still having problems hitting your sister with a belt?
Oh my!  That was a fun and very interesting highlight into her life!  Thanks for the laughs (you know who you are)! :)