Wonderful Saturday!

Yesterday was such a wonderful day!

To start with, my nephew Josh was baptized and it was such a neat experience. Josh has been a little nervous to get baptized because he was worried about being under water. In fact, I remember when we went to my niece's baptism a few years ago he said, "That is just not right; you shouldn't drown people like that!"  Well, thanks to lots of prayers and help from his parents, Josh made the decision to be baptized and was really excited about it.

It was so fun to walk in and see Josh all in white and so handsome and excited! I kept getting a little teary eyed as I looked at him and as I felt the Spirit of the day. It was also fun to be there with family.

Jen and me were sitting on one of the smaller side benches and just kept gathering children as the families came in. At one point we had 8 of our sweet nieces and nephews on our bench--two beside Jen, two on Jen's lap, two between me and Jen, and two on my lap. It was so cute! I just love all those sweet children so much, and I love that they love us as well.

Here are a few pictures from the baptism. I am sure Jen will post a lot more, so I just chose a few:

Josh with his Dad (my brother Adam) and Mom (my sis-in-law Stace)

Josh with his Granparent's Southern

Josh with Me and Jen

Isn't he so cute? Don't you love pictures of children at baptisms, dressed all in white and with their countenance glowing? It was a really neat day, and Josh did really well with the baptism and was not even nervous. I love these wonderful moments in life!

I have to add one picture from the luncheon after the baptism. I told Jen she should get a picture with the two pregnant women in our family because maybe it would be good luck for her to find a husband and have kids of her own. It turned out really cute!

Stace, Jen and my sister Emilee

Last night I went to the General Young Women's Meeting in the Conference Center with my friend Rachelle, who also happens to be the Stake YW President (I am her first counselor.) It was such a great meeting! All of the talks and music were wonderful, but I especially loved Sister Dalton's talk and President Uctdorf's talk.

President Uctdorf talked about how fairy tales start with "once upon a time" and end with "happily ever after," but in between those lines each character had to face adversity before they reached the "happily ever after." Then he related it to his own life and told the sweetest story about trying to win his wife Harriet, despite the fact that at first she wasn't very interested.  

Rachelle and I were sitting right in front of where Sister Uctdorf was sitting and it was so fun to watch her smile as he talked about her. After the meeting, as he walked out, President Uctdorf put his arm around her and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. What a sweet example of true love!

My favorite quotes from President Uctdorf's talk were, "It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life story will develop," and "My beloved young sisters, stay true to what you know is right... God knows how to get there. He has created a map for you. He knows the way...trust Him enough to follow His plan...  That path will take you to your happily ever after destination."

The whole meeting was wonderful. You can listen to it here. It made me want to be a better person, to sanctify myself and to be more courageous. (The theme was "Be Strong and of a Good Courage" from Joshua 1.) I feel so blessed to have been able to be there in the Conference Center, in the presence of Prophets and Apostles. There is such a special feeling in the Conference Center!

Here are a few pictures from last night:

Rachelle and me at the Conference Center

The beautiful sunset as we walked out of the Conference Center!

Well, I'd better close. I am off to our family birthday party celebration tonight. I thought I would end with a few pictures of the cakes I made for tonight:

My niece wanted a "My Little Pony" cake with sprinkles (thanks for the sprinkes, Karla!)

I couldn't leave my brother out, so I made him a tractor cake since he is a builder

What a wonderful life I have!

Inspired Prayer

I had an interesting experience yesterday. I was saying my morning prayers and remembered a quote from a talk I had listened to recently by Elder Oaks. It is his talk called "Unselfish Service" from the April 2009 General Conference. This is the quote I thought of:

"In contrast, a wise friend wrote:

'Years ago, I changed my attitude about going to church. No longer do I go to church for my sake, but to think of others. I make a point of saying hello to people who sit alone, to welcome visitors, . . . to volunteer for an assignment. . . .


“In short, I go to church each week with the intent of being active, not passive, and making a positive difference in people’s lives. Consequently, my attendance at Church meetings is so much more enjoyable and fulfilling.'”

(The whole talk is very good. You can find it here.)

In my prayer, I asked that I would do something that would make a difference for someone else in Church that day.  I thought it would likely be something I didn't know about; maybe a comment I made would help someone or maybe even just a smile that would brighten someone's day.

Well, I was going in Sunday School and a man in our ward pulled me aside and showed me a sister sitting alone. He said that she had asked him if this was the right class, said she was new, and seemed really nervous. He was wondering if I would mind sitting by her. (I thought that was very considerate of him to think of her...I wouldn't have noticed her if he hadn't pointed her out.)

I went and sat down by her and introduced myself. We ended up talking off and on throughout Sunday School and Relief Society. It turns out she was baptized when she was young but has never really been back and recently decided she needed the Gospel in her life.

This was her first time in Gospel Doctrine. She asked me to help her find the different scriptures references we were reading and was anxiously marking them. She asked me questions about what we were talking about, and even made a comment in Relief Society! It was really such a neat experience. I was touched by her willingness to learn and glad to be able to help her. It reminded me of my mission.

After I got home, I thought of my prayer that morning. I remembered reading once about inspired prayer; that at times, the Spirit will guide you what to pray for. It was such a wonderful thing to have that concept demonstrated to me yesterday, and with very little effort on my part. I am glad that Heavenly Father saw fit to use me as an instrument to help another person!

Update...and P.S. I Love My Job!

Wow, this is the longest I have gone without posting since I started my blog. I have had an incredibly busy few weeks, and have hardly even sat down at the computer.

I was thinking about how I always talk about my busy weeks and how possibly at times you wonder what it is that is keeping me so busy. So, I decided to give a brief overview of what I did this week, mostly for my benefit, since I am using this as my journal lately (so you are welcome to stop reading at this point if that would  be boring for you ;).

Monday:

• I worked at UV Hosptial in the office in the morning. I wanted to touch base with one of my orienters who was almost done and see how she was feeling. I also needed to set up orientation schedules for three nurses aides that are coming to orient next week. In the midst of this, I helped on the floor as they got a really sick baby that ended up on a ventilator. I actually really like helping in situations like that. I like to see how the whole team works together to help stablize a critical child, and I like helping to keep the family updated and comforted. That situation went particularly well.
• I went to AF Hosptial in the afternooon to check on another orienter that was almost done.
• In the evening I went to my parents for our monthly combined FHE. That was really nice to relax, see my cute kids and talk to my parents.

Tuesday:

• I got up at 4:15 and got ready to leave at 5:15 to go to the temple with the Stake YW Presidency. Even though it was incredible early, I love the temple at that time. It was so peaceful and quiet. I had the chance to read the scriptures for a few minutes before we started. It was nice to be there with my presidency as well.
• I was going to go home and take a quick nap, but I decided as long as I was out, I might as well stop at AF Hospital again because I had a few things to finish there. I was getting orientation quizzes ready for orienters and correcting turned in quizzes so that I could review them with the orienters when I meet with them at the end of orientation. I got involved in that and ended up being there for three hours.
• I ran home and changed my clothes then went back down to UV Hospital to meet with two different people (one about a class I am helping to teach next week and one about an event I helped with last night.)  
• Then I went into my other job (Horizon Home Health) and helped with chart reviews for a few hours.
• I came home around 6:00 and made dinner, my home teacher came and helped fix our kitchen light (since we have vaulted ceilings and it was tooo tall for us!) and then I worked on the temple schedule over the phone with the new coordinator that I am training.  I went to bed at 9:30 because I had to work at clinical shift the next day.

Wednesday:

• I got up at 4:30 and got ready, read my scriptures and went to work a twelve hour clinical shift (15 hours this time) at AF Hospital at 6:00.  It was another really busy day. We admitted eight patients that day...plus discharged a few. It was a hopping day, but I LOVED my patients that day. They were all so nice and fun to work with. Plus they got an extra nurse to come in and help, so I was able to keep up with my patients, even though it was busy.
• I was going to leave around 8:00 but the night shift was still really busy and needed help, so I stayed until 9:00 to help them get caught up. I came home and had dinner, worked on the schedule again over the phone, and went to bed at 10:00.

Thursday:

• I really, really tried to sleep in. I was exhausted after such a long shift the day before and I knew I would be up late at the temple (plus I am having problems with my feet this winter, I must be getting older, I am not tolerating these long shifts as well...) but I woke up at 6:30 and could not get back to sleep. 
• I got up, studied my scriptures for awhile and then looked over the temple schedule again. The other coordinator actually did it this week (thank goodness!) but it was her first time and so I was reviewing it for her.
• I went into Horizon again for a few hours for a staff meeting and inservice.
• I went to the temple at 3:00. It was a great night. I sure love being a coordinator and working closely with the sisters and the Presidency. I realized as I sat in our meeting that I now know every sister by name (and we have around 60 sisters on my shift). That is surely divine intervention because one of my weaknesses is remembering peoples names.
• At one point I was instructing a sister and the Assistant Matron happened to be near by. She came over to me when I was done and told me that she was grateful for how I took care of things on my shift and then suprised me by saying, "You light up the room when you walk in. I sure love working with you." I got a little teary eyed (I know, me emotional) and thought of how lucky I am to work there. It was a very peaceful evening.  I thought again of how lucky we are to have temples in our lives!
• I got home at 11:00 and read a little bit to wind down before I went to bed.

Friday:

• I actually slept in until 7:45. I was a little worn out from the week. I was going to go back into work for a few hours, but I was over hours because of my long shift on Wednesday, so I decided to stay home and rest. I ended up working from home a little bit, but at least I did not have to go in.
• I actually spent a couple of hours studying about the Last Days/Second Coming in D&C 45 and JS Matt and in the Institute study guides. I had been thinking of how there have been three earthquakes in the past three months and remembering the part in D&C 45:33 that talks about "earthquakes in divers places" and wanted to study more about it. It was fascinating and comforting even as I read about all that will happen as I read and pondered about how the Lord will be with us through all of it.
• I did my laundry, did the dishes, cleaned, paid bills and got ready for the evening.
• At 5:00 I went down to UVU to help with the annual "Chocolate Extravaganza" which is a benefit dinner and fundraiser for Pediatrics and NICU.  It was really neat to help. I helped seat people, helped with the auction and with clean up. It was wonderful to see how generous people were.
• At one point, they were asking for donations to help a teenager who was in the NICU years ago and he now has a non-profit agency where he makes these cute blue stuffed lions for kids. One man said that he would give $1000 if the boy would make all of the lions he was donating red. The boy explained that his minimum order to change the color was $3000.  The man then agreed to the $3000! I was very touched by how generous everyone was in general!
• I got done at 10:00 and came home, read a little again and then went to bed after my busy week.

So, that was my week. I am sure you are all bored to tears by now, but I wanted to remember what I do from day to day at this point in my life.

So now to the P.S...  Since I wrote this post a few weeks ago about my very long and frustrating shift, a few people have asked me if I really like my job. I should have been more clear. Even on the crazy busy days I really love my job. I love working with the patients and families and feeling like I am making a difference in their lives. I love learning from their examples of patience in hard times. I love teaching and training new staff. The problem with the day I wrote about a few weeks ago was that I felt like I didn't make a difference, like I it would almost have been better if I had not been there. Those days are few and far between, thank goodness. Just wanted to put the record straight!

Precious Moments

I love children; I love spending time with them, learning from them and especially hearing the cute things they say.

Last week I had a couple of really cute children moments.

The first was when I went to dinner with some friends that I haven't seen for ahwile. They have two kids, a five year old boy and  a three year old girl and they were both so cute all night long. Even though it had been awhile since I had seen the kids, they soon warmed up to me and were talking to me, sitting on my lap, giving me hugs etc. So cute.

After dinner, we went to their house and put the kids to bed. The five year old boy said the prayer by himself and it was actually quite long and involved, and very sweet. Here is an excerpt:

"Thank you for the chapel because Jesus lives there, and please bless God, and please bless...(silence, then an aside to his Dad) what's her name again? Oh yeah, please bless Janice."

It was so cute. I couldn't help smiling during the prayer. I am sure Heavenly Father just loves these wonderful prayers from these little children. 

I asked  my friends afterward why he said, "Please bless God." They said that in his mind the Godhead has four members: Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Ghost. So cute!

The other moment was with my sweet niece and nephew. My sister invited us over for dinner and after dinner, my niece Emma wanted to make cookies. I love making cookies with my nieces and nephews; we do it every time we have a sleepover at our house. It is so fun to have them help and see them get so excited about it (and of course to help them eat the cookies afterwards...)

So, we got the stools out for them to stand on and I proceeded to make cookies with my four year old niece and two year old nephew. All was going well until I pulled out the mixer to mix it. There was only one beater! I asked my sister where the other beater was and she said it had broken and they didn't want to buy another one because it still mixes just fine. (They are very frugal.  I need to be more like that.)

So, we started mixing the cookie dough with the one beater. Of course Emma had her hand on mine, Matthew had his hand on the mixer, and then Emma decided her pink dolphin needed to help as well.

So, I am trying to mix with one beater, two kids (and the dolphin of course) and feeling like I am doing a pretty good job considering the circumstances, with only a few little pieces of dough flying around onto the recipe book and counter. Then Emma, noticing that it was a little messier than usual says, "Janice, you are not a very good cookie maker..."

It was so cute. I couldn't help laughing! I love the perspective of children. Here are a few pictures:

The mixing process, right before Emma's comment. Notice the slightly concerned look on my face, the one beater, and of course, the pink dolphin.

Putting the chocolate chips in. Emma has the cutest look on her face in this picture! Matthew was helping put the chips in and of course, helping to eat a few chips as well.

Well, we had fun, but Dan made me take all but a few of the cookies with me so that they were not in his house tempting him.

So, I took them to work the next day and told my coworkers the story. Later, one of the girls asked me for the recipe.

I told her I wasn't sure if she really trusted my recipe, after all, I am not a very good cookie maker, and besides, she would have to get a pink dolphin...I am SURE that is why they turned out so good :).

You Never Know...

I worked a clinical shift on Monday. It was supposed to be a 12 hour shift but it ended up being 15 hours. I got there at 6:00 am and did not walk out until 9:00 pm.  I normally really enjoy my clinical shifts, even though the hours are long and even when it is busy, because I feel like I have made a difference and I love working with the darling little children.

But Monday was different. It was busy from the moment I walked in and it seemed like I couldn't keep up or do anything right. I felt like I was off all day long. Things that normally come easily for me were difficult. And on top of that it seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong.

It was a very frustrating and stressful day. As I walked out the door that day, I was fairly discouraged. I knew I had not made a difference that day for anyone. I am sure part of the reason I was feeling that way was due to the fact that I was tired and hungry (it was so busy I had not stopped for lunch or dinner; I had a few snacks on the run, but I had not really eaten anything substantial.)

But even the next day, with sleep and food, I still felt bad about how the day had gone. I kept thinking about it and wondering what I could have done differently to help my patients more. Later, as I was telling my sister about my day; how so many things had gone wrong and how I felt like I had failed my patients, I thought of a talk by President Hinckley.

President Hinckley tells of a time he went to a stake conference that he felt did not go well at all. In fact on the way home he tells of feeling like he had not touched even one person for good. He then goes on to share an experience he had years later. I thought I would share an excerpt of his talk:

Then, some years later, I was at another conference in California. At the conclusion of the meeting a man came up to me and said, "You were at a conference a few years ago in such-and-such a place."


"Yes," I said, "I was there, and I remember the occasion."

The man said: "You touched my heart. I came to that meeting out of curiosity. I really had no interest. I was on the verge of leaving the Church. But when it was announced that one of the Twelve Apostles would be there, I decided to go.

"You said something that started me to think. It touched me and stayed with me and stirred me. I decided to alter my course. I turned my life around. I am now living here in California. I have a good job, for which I am grateful. I hope I am a good husband and father. And I am now serving as a counselor in the bishopric of my ward. I am happier than I have ever been at any time in my life."

I thanked him, and when I left him I said to myself, shaking my head: "You never know. You never know whether you do any good. You never know how much good you do." (Gordon B. Hinckley, "To the Women of the Church," Ensign, Nov. 2003, 113)

Isn't President Hinckley wonderful! The whole talk is very good, I will put a link here.

Well, yesterday I was working in the office and went in to see one of the patients I had cared for. That particular patient had a rough day on Monday and I did not feel like I was as available as I wanted to be. I apologized to the Mother that I was not more available that day and she suprised me by saying that she had appreciated my care.  At the end of our conversation she said, "Thanks again Janice."  I walked out of that room and I couldn't help thinking, like President Hinckley, "You never know..."

So, on difficult days or maybe even difficult weeks or months, I offer this experience and President Hinckley's words as a solace:

Now, my dear sisters, that is the way with you. You are doing the best you can, and that best results in good to yourself and to others. Do not nag yourself with a sense of failure. Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do. Then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord. You will discover that you have accomplished something beyond price.

My Wonderful Parents

I spent a lot of time this weekend with my parents. It was my Mom's birthday on Friday, and so Jen and I spent time with her that night.  Then on Saturday, we went to dinner with both my parents and then went to their house and visited. It was so nice to be with them and afterward I was thinking about how much I love and respect them and how grateful I am for good parents.

They are not perfect, they made mistakes along the way in raising our family, but they taught us well, and I always knew they loved me. I always knew they were there to help me and they are still always there for me! Even now, I often call them for advice and counsel.  I treasure the Father's blessings I have recieved. I love that I have learned so much about the gospel from both of them.

The reason I am thinking so much about this today is that I had an interesting dream last night. In the dream, my youngest sister and I were together in a room when we realized that we were locked in. Just as I realized the door was locked, I heard my Father's voice on the stairs outside the room, and I was filled with relief. We knocked on the door and called out so that he would hear us and know that we were there. He opened the door and both my parents were there, and I knew everything would be all right. After I woke up, I thought about that dream and how grateful I am that I trust my Father and Mother so much and that I always know they are there to help me in difficult times.

Last week when I was there I went in for family prayer before I left.  Family prayer used to be much larger when I was younger, but that night it was just me and my parents. My Dad said the prayer and it was so good. As I listened to him pray for each family member, I thought of how glad I was to be there for that moment, and how someday when they were gone, I would treasure these kinds of memories.

I am grateful for them; for all they have done and continue to do. Thanks Dad and Mom!

Beauty in Every Season

My very favorite season is spring. I love the first green on the trees, the beautiful spring flowers and the warmer days.  In fact, at this time of year I always long for spring.  After spring my favorite season is fall, then summer and last of all winter.

That said, I have been enjoying this winter more than normal. There have been some very beautiful moments (and not a lot of snowy roads, the thing I dislike the most about winter.) I wanted to share some of those beautiful moments we caught on camera last week. Jen actually took the photos, but she has been busy with a big journal project and has not been blogging lately, so I thought I would post them.

Jen and I were driving home one night last week after a snowstorm. It was late and the storm had passed, and it was the most beautiful night. Everything was just so peaceful and covered in white. We kept commenting on how beautiful it was as we drove. When we got to our condo, we decided to take some pictures of the trees.  We were amazed at how the snow had outlined every branch in exquisite detail!

The next morning, it was still just as beautiful, so we took a few more pictures. I love the row of trees, all perfectly outlined!

I have been thinking of this as an analogy to life. Even in the darkest seasons of my life, there are beautiful moments to be found.

I love the beautiful earth that we have been given!