Well I'm so glad 2008 has gone, and 2009 is here!!!! I know that kinda sounds strange to be glad another year is over, but I'm happy to start with a clean slate and a healthier family. I'm usually overly excited for Christmas each year, but this past year I was happy for it to come and go. I was still in my 1st trimester and sick as a dog. We got a wonderful flu/cold in our house that has wonderfully lasted over a month now, but the doctor thinks it is just allergies with all the strong winds lately. It is hard to have the Christmas spirit when you feel like you have been ran over by the garage truck five billion times, and then he wants to come by just one more time for kicks. I sorry to all our family members who didn't get their presents wrapped this year, but at least I made it to the store and bought them for you :) Christmas involved sitting on the couch watching videos and PBS, and hoping Lizzie wouldn't pounce at any given moment. Drinking hot water since it felt good going down my super sore throat, and wishing I was drinking a chocolate shake from In-N-Out. Staying in my jammies for days, and hoping no one stops by to see how we are doing because it was a frightful sight. Trying to get excited about Christmas baking, and wishing I could call on the elves in the book "Elves and the Shoemaker" to make 5 zillion goodies to pass out to all my friends an neighbors, and just wishing each second that my head would just explode to make my sinus headache come to an END!!!!
So as you can tell the Holidays were kinda hard on me this year with all the different elements of Christmas and sickness weighing on me... but with a lot of time to think (thanks to Kera for always enlightening me.. with her time to contemplate) I wanted this New Year to help me in more ways than none.. I know each year people make resolutions to change certain things from the past year. I have always been HORRIBLE at keeping my resolutions so this year I just wanted something different. Something to spark my interest and help me get though this rut I had myself in... Our Ensign (church magazine still gets delivered to David's parents even thought we have lived in our house over 7 months.. I really need to change the address) but going back to my point we finally got our Ensigns that I always forget to pick up. I love reading all the different stories and they are always enlightening. I came across the October issue and was flipping though the pages in bed one night, and I came across an article on Visiting Teaching and stories from different sisters around the world how Visiting Teaching has touched their lives. I have always been a firm believer that Visiting Teaching is something that was sent from God. The different ladies had such strong testimonies (firm understandings and belief) about the power of visiting teaching and how important it is. The stories touched my heart... and made me want to become a better/BEST visiting teacher. I know sometimes we feel that by just going by and teaching a simple lesson or making a loaf of bread seems tedious sometimes, but I know that the ladies I visit teach need me, even though sometimes they don't think so :) ex: it was late in the month and we are able only to visit this sister on Sundays due to her work schedule. It was the last Sunday and she was busy, but I felt inclined to drop off some goodies and a conference message that I felt would inspire her. I took it to her door and gave it with an open heart even though I was late that month, and felt silly for my simple goodies and talk I included. A few weeks later I saw that sister in the hallway at church, and she came up to me and gave me a huge hug, and said thank you; that is exactly what I needed. I know if we just follow the simple promptings of the Holy Ghost and follow though with it, we won't be sorry. We are blessed in numerous ways when we serve one another with simple acts of service. The following Sunday I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting in my brother and sister-in-laws ward for their daughters blessing. It was fast and testimony meeting too, which I usually have a hard time listening to since Lizzie is such a busy girl, and trying to explore and meet everyone. Thanks to my wonderful Husband and father-in-law I was able to listen to the meeting and able to be inspired by the simple things that the people had to share with us. How amazing it is when the words are just for you to hear, and are able to touch you in a variety of ways. I'm grateful for these amazing experiences and how such simple things turn out to be tender mercies from the Lord.
