If You Want to View Paradise...

Simply look around and view it.  That's what Gene Wilder said when he played Willy Wonka.  I love that movie (except when Charlie's mom sings "Cheer up, Charlie".  I've never really liked that song).  But, there are so many simple truths laid out in that story.  Be giving, even when you have nothing to give.  Don't guzzle down sweets.  Don't waste time in front of the TV.  Don't be greedy and selfish.  Don't be prideful.  Don't let your fears overcome you.  But, there's one that is often overlooked.

Paradise is all around you.  Right now.  Simply look around and view it.  For me I took this to mean two things.

First, your perception means everything.  If you want to have a happy life, you have to look at your life in positive ways.  It's said that there are two sides to every story, and for the most part that's true.  When Thomas pulls ALL the dish towels out of the drawer and onto the floor I have two choices.  I can get mad or frustrated and tell him to put them all away and banish him from the kitchen.  Or, I can remember that he is growing and developing and for toddlers the best way to learn is through hands-on experience.  So, I chose to be grateful that he is developing and healthy.  That's my paradise.  We can hate the place we live or we can find the beauties that surround us.  We can get mad at our spouse or we can realize that they are God's in Embyo trying as we do, and making mistakes, as we do.  Paradise is found in accepting and loving, forgiving and helping.

My thoughts have also lead me to this explanation.  Perhaps paradise is what we're already doing.  Perhaps in Heaven we still raise children, take care of daily things, care for those around us, and all the things that bring us happiness now.  Perhaps paradise is simply what's around us, without temptations, illness, and death.  I wouldn't want to be in a heaven that didn't allow me to be with Steve and Thomas and to continue to learn and grow.  In fact, I wouldn't feel comfortable in a Heaven that I didn't get the chance to be around little ones.  That's what I know on this earth to be paradise.

If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.

A Few of My Favorite Quotes

"We look now at the opposition arrayed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and smile, so to speak, with feelings of confidence."
Joseph F. Smith

"Our perfect Father does not expect us to be perfect children yet. He had only one such Child. Meanwhile, therefore, sometimes with smudges on our cheeks, dirt on our hands, and shoes untied, stammeringly but smilingly, we present God with a dandelion as if it were an orchid or a rose! If for now the dandelion is the best we have to offer, He receives it, knowing what we may later place on the alter. It is good to remember how young we are spiritually."
Neal A. Maxwell


"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices of military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?"
Neal A. Maxwell


"Through personal study, observation, pondering, and prayer, I believe I have come to better understand that the Lord's tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindness, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Truly, the Lord suits 'his mercies according the conditions of men' (Doctrine and Covenants 46:15)."
David A. Bednar

"For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the second coming of the Lord...While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time.  It is that God has saved for the final inning some of His strongest children, who will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly.  That is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God.  In all ages prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to your day.  Billions of the  deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us.  Make no mistake about it--you are a marked generation.  There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is of us.  Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized.  Now is the great day of the devil's power.  But now is also the great day of the Lord's power...The final outcome is certain--the forces of righteousness will finally win.  But what remains to be seen is where each of us will stand in the battle--and how we will stand."
Ezra Taft Benson

"You are good.  But it is not enough just to be good.  You must be good for something.  You must contribute good to the world.  The world must be a better place for your presence.   And the good that is in you must spread to others."
Gordon B. Hinckley

"If you don't stand for something...you'll fall for anything."
Gordon B. Hinckley

Give 'Em Ten

I've always felt like Steve and I have a really good, strong marriage. We're like everyone else and have our disagreements, but I really feel like we've got what it takes to make it. I don't mean to brag, it just makes me feel really secure and happy. I was thinking about this and realized there are a few reasons why we've been so successful. I'll share one of my secrets with you here.

Ten. That's the magic number (not three... :p). Ten is the number of faults each partner in a marriage has that drives the other crazy but will never change*. Keeping that in mind helps things in our marriage so much! Here's an example:

I find ties EVERYWHERE throughout our house. On the barstools, on the couch, on the doorknobs, piles on the floor...you get it. When I see these ties I have two choices: 1. Get mad at Steve and tell him for the millionth time to put his ties where they belong or I'm going to start throwing them away or 2. Let that be one of his ten faults that I know won't change no matter how much I want it to. I accept it as one of those and move on.

I know I have faults too that Steve catalogs in his ten. For instance, I am scatterbrained when it comes to grocery shopping. I'm always running around the store trying to find this or that and then running back to the other side of the store because I forgot one thing or another. He used to get really frustrated when we'd go shopping together. Now he bites his tongue, pushes through, and gives me that as one of my ten.

So, next time your husband turns on the TV before offering to help with the dishes, or your wife sits down to read her book before mending your socks, just realize that that is who they are, give them one of their ten, and enjoy the things that you LOVE 100% about them.

*As a disclaimer, I don't believe at all that abuse, meanness, addictions, and other damaging practices should be in the ten. Only things that don't matter in the long run, but are annoying now. There are some things in a person that can and should be changed or the marriage will not work. It is up to each couple to determine what things are liveable and what things are not. Also, we don't REALLY count out ten things and have a running list, it's more of a guideline really :)

Labor Day

Steve, Thomas, and I had such a fun Labor Day weekend. We went up to Idaho and stayed with Ryan, Sweelin, and their four kids. Thomas LOVED playing with his cousins, especially Kaylin. He would follow her around everywhere she went.

On Monday morning Thomas woke up and was laying next to me in bed just talking and cuddling. As soon as he heard Spencer and Jeran get up Thomas started SCREAMING because he wanted to play with them so badly! I love that he loves his cousins!

Thomas was a very hungry boy while we were there and ate a whole hot dog, a half of a hamburger, lots of pizza, and some S'mores. He sure does love to get messy!

After we left Ryan and Sweelin's home we went to Rexburg so that I could see my BFF since 2nd grade :) She's having a boy in January and looks so cute and so excited to have a baby! I know she is going to be a WONDERFUL mommy!