“From time to time the question has been posed, ‘If Jesus appeared to you today, what questions would you ask of Him?’ My answer has always been, ‘I would not utter a word. I would listen to Him.’" 

–President Thomas S. Monson

"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink." -G.K Chesterton (writer)

This quote reminded me of two things, one was my childhood and my Dad gathering us together to pray as a family before going on a trip together, or a special event like one of my siblings graduation, etc...we always prayed as a family before meals and before bedtime, but i think it was those prayers at other times that made me realize that Heavenly Father listened to our prayers always.   The second instance this quote reminded me of was when i was a missionary riding my bike with a companion to a town many miles away.  My companion insisted we take a busy highway to get there, so i prayed and prayed as we rode that we wouldn't cause an accident as trucks and cars were swerving around us.  Maybe halfway through our ride my companion agreed that we should find a safer route...so we took a more rural road the rest of the way. As we were accounting this episode to a family we were teaching they said to me, "oh i bet you were glad you were on a safer road and could stop praying..." My reply was, "Oh i kept praying, but it was a prayer of gratitude the rest of the way!"

"You can't act like a skunk without someone getting wind of it."  -Lorene Workman

When i read this quote i had to smile because my four year old is super scared of skunks because as a toddler he and my husband found a skunk hiding out in a grain bin, luckily they got away before being sprayed but ever since our son has been leery of the smelly critter.  On the other hand, i think our almost three year old daughter is intrigued by skunks and her favorite "curious george" episode to watch is the "skunk one." as she calls it.

"It is quite possible to leave your home for a walk in the early morning air and return a different person - beguiled, enchanted."
-Mary Ellen Chase

"Tread softly! All the earth is holy ground."

-Christina Rossetti

"There are years in which nothing happens and years in which centuries happen." -Carlos Fuentes

Five years ago this month, my husband and i were married...It is crazy to think that just six short years ago i didn't even know my husband let alone our three children.  I think back on these past five years and i feel like SO much has happened, even centuries worth but it has gone by in a flash...a beautiful, joyful flash.  I can't imagine my life without this bunch, the little ones and big one.  They are my life!

"Motherhood was my career. I'm totally satisfied with that."

-Ann Romney

                        (my two sweet nieces)

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mother's and to all those who "mother" in any way!!!!

"Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, 

everything is animated,

everything seems to speak to me of my passion, 

everything invites me to cherish it."-Anne de Lencios

today was one of those days when everything seemed so alive! blossoms were blooming i hadn't noticed before and just as i was noticing them i saw the most giant bumble bee i'd ever seen, just busily buzzing about the flowers.  and moments later i saw a rabbit twitching his ears, listening for something ever so still, and then he hopped away as if he were Peter Rabbit coming to life.  just as my husband and son were starting to take a walk on a meandering trail, a duck flew out of a nearby bush and my husband noticed about a dozen eggs hidden in the bush...duck eggs, no doubt with life forming inside them...pretty amazing!  

We are trying to make some major decisions recently and when i saw this quote it really resonated with me. (the only question is, which staircase to start climbing?)

The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time.

Henry David Thoreau

"May the Lord bless you, my beloved sisters.  

You are the gaurdians of the hearth. 

You are the bearers of the children.

You are they who nurture them and establish

within them the habits of their lives.

No other work reaches so close to divinity

as does the nurturing of the sons and daughters of God."

-President Gordan B. Hinckley

The Cub Scout Promise

I promise to do my best
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people, and
To obey the Law of the Pack.

I get to work with the cub scouts and i love it! I love that they are encouraged to "do my best" It is a good reminder.  Also, i learn so much from these boys.  They are eager to learn, eager to do new things, eager to talk.  I remember when i first was asked to be a den leader someone shared the advice to listen to the boys.  She said that her teenagers come home from school and have their heads buried in their iphones, etc...and it's a struggle to get them to talk.  But these young boys are so eager to talk, and share and there's so much to learn from them! 

"holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." 
-Gautama Buddha (circa 563 BC-483 BC)