Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Trials of others

There is a blog I have been following about a friend's nephew named Skyler. This little kid has had a rough time of life so far. He is four years old. Right before he turned two, his dad passed away from a heart tumor. And a year and a half later, his mom, Crystal, saw that he had a lump on his jaw, but due to circumstances of Skyler getting sick too often to have it removed, they had to wait til May. The lab threw it away and didn't test it for cancer. Then is June they had to have it removed again. They were again told that it was not cancer. Then in Aug, his mom noticed that he was sick and took him to the insta-care, they said he had allergies and sent them on their way. After some more issues, he was finally taken for some tests and they then learned that he has leukemia. And so I follow their blog, having my heart ache at each new post for Sklyer, his mom Crystal, and all of their family at what this kid is having to go through. 
Well, tonight as I was reading their latest post, I couldn't hold the tears back. All I could think about is how would I handle this if I were in Crystal's shoes? She lost her husband two years ago to a heart tumor, and she is now watching her 4 year old go through surgery after surgery trying to beat the leukemia. I honestly don't know how I would handle it. Just thinking of Thomas having to have so many things happen to him, I can't stand the thought. And so my heart goes out to her. I have never met her, and probably will never have that blessing, but she is in my prayers. They are amazing in my eyes. And I know that Heavenly Father must think very, very highly of them. I feel that every time I read what they are going through. 
If you want to read about these amazing people, you can check out their blog

And as I think about them, I cannot help but remember 
I think that they exemplify real disciples of Christ. In deed, in courage, and in faith. And stand by him at all times, in all things, and in all places and that he is assuredly standing by them now. I just pray I can be half as strong as these amazing people that I get a glimpse at.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Love and Marriage (warning! LOTS of pictures!)

"Temple marriage is a covenant that bridges death, transcends time, stretches unbreakable into eternity"  Spencer W. Kimball



"True love is a process. True love requires personal action. Love must be continuing to be real. Love takes time..." Marvin J. Aston


“The Lord has ordained that we should marry,that we shall live together in love and peace and harmony. … The time will come when you will fall in love. It will occupy all of your thoughts and be the stuff of which your dreams are made. … You will know no greater happiness than that found in your home. … The truest mark of your success in life will be the quality of your marriage. … This choice will be the most important of all the choices you make in your life”    President Gordon B. Hinckley 


 “divine love is not like that association of the world which is misnamed love, but which is mostly physical attraction. … The love of which the Lord speaks is not only physical attraction, but also faith, confidence, understanding, and partnership. It is devotion and companionship, parenthood, common ideals and standards. It is cleanliness of life and sacrifice and unselfishness. This kind of love never tires nor wanes. It lives on through sickness and sorrow, through prosperity and privation, through accomplishment and disappointment, through time and eternity” Spencer W. Kimball


"True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion."  Gordon B, Hickley


"Love, as defined by the Lord, elevates, protects, respects, and enriches one to make sacrifices for another."  Richard G. Scott



"Celestial marriage prepares us for the greatest joy and happiness known to mortals and for eternal life in the realms ahead." Bruce R. McConkie


 “If you will make your first concern the comfort, the well-being, and the happiness of your companion, sublimating any personal concern to that loftier goal, you will be happy, and your marriage will go on through eternity”
Gordon B. Hinckley


 "In true marriage there must be a union of minds as well as of hearts." Spencer W. Kimball


"Love is a fragile thing, and some elements in life can try to break it. Much damage can be done if we are not in tender hands, caring hands. To give ourselves totally to another person, as we do in marriage, is the most trusting step we take in any human relationship. It is a real act of faith--faith all of us must be willing to exercise. If we do it right, we end up sharing everything--all our hopes, all our fears, all our dreams, all our weaknesses, and all our joys--with another person.
No serious courtship or engagement or marriage is worth the name if we do not fully invest all that we have in it and in so doing trust ourselves totally to the one we love. You cannot succeed in love if you keep one foot out on the bank for safety's sake. The very nature of the endeavor requires that you hold on to each other as tightly as you can and jump in the pool together." Jeffrey R. Holland



"Marriage is yet safe, with all its sweet fulfillment, with all its joy and love. In marriage all of the worthy yearnings of the human soul, all that is physical and emotional and spiritual, can be fulfilled.

Marriage is not without trials of many kinds. These tests forge virtue and strength. The tempering that comes in marriage and family life produces men and women who will someday be exalted." Boyd K. Packer


 "How sweet is the assurance, how comforting is the peace that come from the knowledge that if we marry right and live right, our relationship will continue, notwithstanding the certainty of death and the passage of time. Men may write love songs and sing them. They may yearn and hope and dream. But all of this will be only a romantic longing unless there is an exercise of authority that transcends the powers of time and death."  Gordon B. Hinckley



"Do you want capability, safety, and security in dating and romance, in married life and eternity? Be a true disciple of Jesus. Be a genuine, committed, word-and-deed Latter-day Saint. Believe that your faith has everything to do with your romance, because it does. You separate dating from discipleship at your peril. Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, is the only lamp by which you can successfully see the path of love and happiness. How should I love thee? As He does, for that way “never faileth.”
Jeffrey R. Holland



"I have taken for a title to my remarks Mrs. Browning's wonderful line "How do I love thee?" I am not going to "count the ways"..., but I am impressed with her choice of adverb--not when do I love thee nor where do I love thee nor why do I love thee nor why don't you love me, but, rather, how. How do I demonstrate it, how do I reveal my true love for you? Mrs. Browning was correct. Real love is best shown in the "how." Jeffrey R. Holland


"Perfect love is perfectly patient." Neal A. Maxwell



"Such an act of love (marriage) between a man and a woman is---or certainly was ordained to be---a symbol of total union; union of their hearts, their hopes, their lives, their love, their family, their future, their everything. . . The prophet Joseph SMith once said we perhaps ought to render such a sacred bond as 'welding'---that those united in matrimony and eternal families are 'welded; together, inseparable , if you will, to withstand the temptations of the adversary and the afflictions of mortality." Jeffrey R. Holland



I can't say enough how my life has changed in the last two years. Thanks babe for all the memories we have shared and I am stoked for the rest of them we get to make. 
Happy Anniversary!

Friday, September 10, 2010

9 months and counting!

I can't believe my little boy is 9 MONTHS ALREADY!

Where did the time go?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Private

I think I have reached that time when I am going to go private with this blog. My jewelry blog will stay public, but I want to post things that I will know who can read it. So if you want to be included give me your e-mail. Thanks!