Every single Birthday is Special

I am getting ready to leave on a trip to see Jared for his birthday this weekend. And it gives me time to reflect on the past year that we've spent together and the bond that we've built in our relationship. I'm so blessed that I have this chance to spend this special day with him and share in the celebration of his birth.


I know that as we get older we have a tendency to stop celebrating our birthdays and just brush them under the rug. We let them silently slip by in hopes that no one noticed that we turned one year older. The fact that I pulled three more grey hairs from my head this morning has nothing to do with the fact that the number of candles on my birthday cake went up this year.


I don't feel any older. Why should I care that I'm celebrating a birthday in October that gives people permission to stop buying me nice cute gifts and in turn give me gifts that are intended for one going into a nursing home. Its just a number and we really are only as old as we feel.

I'm really excited to get to Seattle tomorrow and see Jared and spend time with him and his daughters. Even though its only been about eight weeks since we've seen each other, it seems like its been eight months. Time seems to stand still when you're separated from the one's that you love.

We don't have a lot planned, just some quite family time. But it will be meaningful and fun all the same. I wish that my boys were going to be with me as well. That would make this trip all the more sweeter. But once again Alex has Baseball games and Connor has missed too much school already from the flu this year. So they'll just have to wait until the summer trip to journey to the Pacific Northwest with me.

My Heavenly Father has blessed me and my family so much this past year. I wish the same for all of you and yours. As we celebrate in HIS glorious Resurrection this Easter season, I hope that you can all remember that we are all special children of God and so worthy of the sacrifice that he made for each and every one of us.

No matter what trials are plaguing us today, nothing can compare to the suffering that our Lord accepted as his punishment so many years ago so that we might know Eternal Salvation. So revel in that Glory and embrace your BIRTHDAY. Whether that be your day of actual birth or the day of your RE-Birth into the kingdom of Heaven. We are all worthy of that Celebration and Praise!

Go sing on a mountaintop today, Heavenly Father is always listening!

I'm a Horrible Person, But Forgiveness is Forgiveness

So I'm not a fan of the TV show "Sex in the City". But I did happen to see the movie while I was stuck in bed sick. Why did I watch the movie if I never watched the show? Because I was too sick to try and find my remote control so I watched it like three times. The good thing is, I kept falling asleep so I think between the three times it was on, I've seen it only once.

I will tell you that I think Jennifer Hudson is a fantastic actress and she deserved that Oscar she won for Dreamgirls. But I digress as that is not the topic of my story today....

In my foggy haze of sickness I gathered that the main character Carrie was left at the alter by her fiance Jon "Big" Preston and that Miranda's husband Steve has had an affair because he feels un-needed by Miranda. Now whether that's how it really happened, is not the point. There was a scene in the movie that I did watch that struck a chord with me.

Carrie and Miranda were sitting in a cab after having had an argument and Miranda was begging Carrie to forgive her.


Carrie: "You know you badger me to forgive you after three days, but yet you won't forgive Steve after six months."

Miranda "That its completely different."

Carrie: "It's Forgiveness."

And there you go. Those two words said it all for me, Its Forgiveness. It doesn't matter if I stole a pack of gum or ran over your dog with my car, its Forgiveness. There is no fuzzy grey area. It is crystal clear, black and white. You either forgive me or you don't.

Now I'm not saying that there are not consequences for said actions, but I am saying that we should be honest when we tell someone we forgive them. There are so many of us walking around with these huge chips on our shoulders because someone made us mad or offended us in some way. We always say, "I'll forgive you If..." and attach a list of conditions onto the end of the statement.

I say, let it go. Seriously, is it that big of a deal to waste one more bit of your energy on the situation. Just forgive and forget. If you've wronged someone, apologize. Reach out to that person, own up to it and take responsibility for what it is you've done wrong. Even if it is hard and you have to swallow your pride. "Man up" as Jared would say.

I know I'm trying to. I'm estranged from my parents right now. I wronged them. My past actions caused the estrangement and I take that responsibility on fully by myself. But I've also asked forgiveness so now the choice is up to them. They either accept my apology and we move forward or they don't and I'm left without two parent's that I love very much.

This Sunday is the Celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that you are all reminded that he died on that cross for ALL of our sins; not just ones that he thought were worthy. Every one of us is worthy of HIS Forgiveness. All you have to do is ask.

Because I know I will continue to ask until I right the wrong I caused. I'm not a bad person, I've just made mistakes in my past that have hurt others. And there just comes a time when enough is enough and they just have to close the door to shut out the pain. Now I have to work on getting that door opened again.

And with Heavenly Father's help, I know that eventually I'll be able to do that. Maybe not in this life time, but I'll do my very best.

Because like I said, Forgiveness is Forgiveness.

Movies with Memories

You know when you hear a certain song or see a certain movie, it brings a memory back that was really special to you? Well that happened to me this past weekend.

Mine happens to be a movie, and that movie happens to be "Fried Green Tomato's." Now if you're a Dude and you've never seen this movie, its still a great flick, and I suggest you secretly put it in your Netflix queue and watch it!  I love it and every time I see it I am reminded of my very best friend Amy.

Let me take you back a few years....It just happened to be a few months before Amy gave birth to her daughter. She went into premature labor at work and walked over to my cube to tell me she was having contractions.  Well I can't remember why, but for some strange reason, her husband wasn't able to take her to the hospital and he would meet her there later. So since I have the honor of being her best friend, I took her.  We got her in a room in her cute little "I don't cover anything" gown and tucked in her bed.  

So there we were. Amy tucked tight under the covers in bed. And me right next to her, holding her hand telling her everything was going to be alright.  

One thing you need to know about sweet Amers is that she is very holistic and careful about the things she puts in her body.  She doesn't take medicine if its unnecessary.  This is not some whim that she's adopted, she's been this way as long as I've known her. And I love her for it.  

So anyway,  This Horrid nurse walks in, demanding Amy allow her to give her this medication that will stop the contractions.  Well Amy is in FREAK OUT stage now people.  Because "Ugly Nurse Betty" (that's what we'll call her) is basically telling Amy that she's going to kill her baby if she doesn't take the meds because the baby will deliver too early.  

Whoa Ugly Nurse Betty! Could you be more of a Drama Queen? If she doesn't want to take the medication, she doesn't want to take the meds.  We all know that AMy would never kill her baby - but Ugly Nurse Betty is being VERY mean to Amy and trying to scare her into taking the medication.  I ask Ugly Nurse Betty if Amers can call her husband before she administers the drugs.  Just to talk about it with him.  That was agreed and Nurse Betty stormed out of the room.

Amers and her husband decided that it was in the baby's best interest to take the medication so this is where the tale begins....because once Amy agreed to Ugly Nurse Betty's demands, she became...Angel Nurse Betty.

And this is where "Fried Green Tomato's" enters our story because Nurse Betty brought Amers and me a VCR and some movies to watch while we waited for her contractions to stop.  All the while we talked about the baby, names, how her son was going to feel about having a sibling, and just a lot other things. We laughed alot!! =)

But the fact that she and I watched this movie together and built a bond that will last our lifetime means so much to me. We learned things about each other that we might never have had the chance to talk about.  But when you're sitting in a hospital room, you have all kinds of time.

You might be asking me, why I'm bringing this up?  Well this weekend while I was laying in bed sick, "Fried Green Tomato's" came on Showtime.  I watched that movie three times and every time I watched it I thought of Amy and that hospital room and her sweet daughter who shares my middle name.  I cried every time I watched it because I love Amy, her three children and her husband like they are my own family.  And I do consider them my family.

We have such wonderful people in our lives and are so blessed to share those experiences with them.  I called Amy over the weekend just to let her know that I was thinking about her and that I watched that movie.  We need to let the people in our lives know they are important. Tell them how you feel.  Because you never know if you're going to get that chance again.  You never know when the Lord is going to call you or them home.

Love on your Children,  Family and Friends.  Because I promise you that you will get the same in return!

Planning for the future to take care of today

For the past three weeks I’ve gone through some personal health struggles that have put a real strain on my household income. It was not something that I could have planned for; it was sudden and out of the blue. Because of that, I wasn’t prepared financially, physically, and neither was my household prepared for what was about to happen. The only thing ready for this new trial was my “spiritual wellbeing.”

I am very close to the members of my church and they helped me out by delivering meals while I was sick. At least I didn’t have to worry about trying to cook dinner for my children. That was one burden lifted from my shoulders. You see I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If there is one thing that we sister’s can do for one another its cook. And my kids were spoiled rotten. I don’t usually make desserts and my lovely Relief Society Sister’s all brought yummy brownies and bundt cakes. So after a week of that, my kids have come to expect these scrumptious and delectable treats to finish off their meals.

Unfortunately my new found budget will not allow such grandeur. I know that you think brownies and Bundt Cake, how expensive could that be? Well when you’re trying to take care of medical expenses on top of all the other daily bills that you have, it adds up to A LOT!

But if I had PLANNED for this, or at least had something saved up and food “in storage” as my church advises us all to do, I might not be in the situation that I currently find myself. Now, not to use this as an excuse, but I am a recent convert as of August 2008. So I am still learning about all the “planning and preparing” that goes into being part of the church. And I have to say that this is a fantastic idea. I want to share some of this with all of you because I think that we can all benefit from such knowledge.

I just got my March 2009 copy of the Ensign. Now for those of you that aren’t Mormon, you might not have heard of this magazine, but I’ve come to love the articles that are featured. I’ve included the link for those of you that would like to check it out. Turn to page 56 and the article is entitle “Family Home Storage: A New Message”.

http://www.lds.org/churchmagazines/EN_2009_03_00___04203_000_000.pdf

Guideline 1: Build your three-month supply gradually.

One of the things that I really took away from this article is that we’re not expected to “plan” for an entire year right up front. “Start small and do the best you can. Begin by purchasing a few extra items to add to your storage each week. Strive to build a one-week supply; then expand it to a one-month supply, then a three-month supply. By building your supply slowly, you can avoid financial strain and start down the path toward self-reliance.” Pg. 58 Ensign, March 2009

Guideline 2: Store drinking water.

I know that we all go to the grocery store and buy bottled water. So when we go we can buy an extra case and set it to the side. With everything that has happened within the last few years from 911 to Katrina to the flooding in Iowa this past summer, you never know when a major catastrophe is going to take out the water supply. “In times of need, having water to drink can be the difference between life and death—or at least between peace and anxiety.” Pg. 59, Ensign, March 2009

Guideline 3: Set aside a little money.

Now as far as this goes, this is where I will struggle the most; because if I have money available then I will spend it. So this money needs to be in some type of account that is safe from “prying hands.” This is why Jared, my sweetie, is perfect for me. Because he will ride my butt hard on any purchases if I tell him to guard my finances for me. “From the First Presidency comes this counsel: ‘We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures. . . . Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve’.” Pg. 59-60 Ensign, March 2009

President Thomas S. Monson is quoted as saying “Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.” Pg. 58, Ensign, March 2009

There are more guideline’s listed, but these are the three most important that I wanted to share with all of you. If I would have heeded the first two then I would not have even felt the shift of being down for three weeks with an illness.

All I am saying my friends, is in this economy that is such a mess right now, lets take more time to consider our homes and families. Let’s plan better and secure a future for our families that have them well provided for and keep them safe.

Many Blessings Everyone,
Mel