Monday, March 31, 2014

~ Motivational Monday #3. ~




This has been a really trying month for me personally. Not only did I found out Aaron's deployment was extended. I also had a lot of drama surrounding a calling I received at church. That unnecessary drama has left me with a lot of negative thoughts and feelings. At church yesterday, we sang I know that my Redeemer lives. In that song it says, "He lives to hear my souls complaint. He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives to to calm my troubled heart." While singing this words, I felt an overwhelming sense of love. This quote then came in my mind. I can choose how I am going to feel. I can choose to accept that drama happens and move on. I'm an grateful for this sweet reminder about choosing to be happy.





image from pinterest 




Sunday, March 30, 2014

~ Women in the Scriptures Challenge : The Daughter's of Ishmael ~

Book of Mormon

The Daughter's of Ishmael

1st Nephi 7:6, 19, 16:7, 19, 22, 32, 35-36, 39, 17:1-3, 18:9, 19, 24
2nd Nephi 5:5-7

Like Sariah, the daughter's of Ishmael left the comforts of everyday life and departed into the wilderness.

I find it interesting that from the very beginning, Nephi tells us that not all the daughter's of Ishmael liked the idea of living in the wilderness. In 1st Nephi chapter seven verse six Nephi writes, ". . . two of the daughters of Ishmael . . . . did rebel against us; yea, against me, Nephi, . . . . and his (Ishmael) other daughters." They were rebelling because they wanted to go back to Jerusalem. Clearly, they did not have faith in Heavenly Father and His plan for them.  

While living in the wilderness, they experience a lot of hardships. They experienced hunger, fatigue, and childbirth; however, it wasn't until Ishmael died that we are able to see and feel the extent of their trials. In 1st Nephi chapter sixteen verse thirty five we read about how they did mourn exceedingly because of their father's death. I can understand their sadness. I would also be extremely upset if I lost my father, but it didn't stop with their father's death. If we continue reading verse thirty five it mentions they also did mourn exceedingly because of their afflictions in the wilderness. They murmured against Lehi, because he bought them out of Jerusalem to go through these afflictions and for what? To die? The daughter's of Ishmael are no longer upset, but are extremely angry about their circumstances. Then comes the voice of the Lord in verse thirty nine. They are chastened exceedingly, they repent, and they are blessed. 

Then comes some of my favourite verses. Chapter seventeen verse one through three of 1st Nephi says, "And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness. And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings. And thus we see that the commandments of the God must be fulfilled. And if is so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strenghten them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness." I love this reminder that through our Heavenly Father we can accomplish anything. That we can fulfill our destiny that he has for us. 


When I think of the Daughter's of Ishmael, I am reminded of this quote, I am in charge of how I feel and Today I am choosing happiness. Their circumstances didn't change. They were still in the wilderness. They were still experiencing trials and afflictions; however, their attitudes changed, and so did their blessings.  These women are great examples to me. They were strong, hardworking, and accepted the hardships that came. They learned to bear their journey without murmuring.  We too can choose to accept our circumstances and trials and decide to keep moving. Heavenly Father will bless and strengthen us.  

 I have the picture at the top of this post on my wall at home. I love it! It is a constant reminder to me to stop complaining!




image from Real Hero Posters
these are my thoughts and opinions of the daughter's of Ishmael

Monday, March 24, 2014

~ Motivational Monday #2. ~


I love this quote!
Too often I get lost in the storm (my individual trial.) I let it start defining who I am and where I am going. 
But the sunshine is coming! If I have faith, and put my trust in my Heavenly Father. I can make it through the storm, and be stronger because of it. 

Don't let your trials define you - learn from them and always keep moving forward - you will get through it!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

~ Hannah's Spring Dresses ~

I have been so excited about the dresses for Spring, that I might have gone a little overboard . . . 
links to where I bought the dresses will be down below

  

I found this gorgeous white eyelet dress at Target for around twenty dollars. I love pairing it with a colorful cardigan and these super cute mint green shoes. 


I was walking past a Gymboree store and saw this dress out of the corner of my eye.


No way I could pass it up! It is so cute!!!
 Hannah was very upset when I made her take it off. She thinks it is her princess dress. 


This is Hannah's Easter dress.


I love the yellow, and her face is adorable in this picture : )


This pink dress we found at Costco. 
The thing about Costco is you have to buy it as soon as you see it, because if you don't it won't be there the next time you go.
I ended up buying three dresses during this visit. . . . oops



This is another Gymboree dress.

  

Hannah LOVES how puffy their dresses are. 
She thinks she is a princess when she twirls around in them.


This is the yellow Easter dress but in pink.


I wasn't going to buy this dress, but we were at my Mum's house one weekend. I had forgot to bring a dress for Hannah to wear to church, so I ran to Target and voila.


This is another one of thedresses that I got at Costco.


I love purple in the spring.

  

And here is the third Costco dress. 
It has quickly become one of my favourites.


I have no idea why she is making this hilarious face but I love it.
This is the blue version of the white dress from Target.


This was the first dress I bought this season. I fell in love with the bow and the eyelet design.
Hannah loves it too.



I love having a girl to dress up. 

Monday, March 17, 2014

~ Motivational Monday #1 ~

I saw this idea on Sprinkle of Glitter's blog and thought it was wonderful!
Every Monday she posts a motivational quote and I decided I want to do this too.


As most of you know, I recently found out that Aaron's deployment is being extended. This was extremely hard news to take and really tested my strength.

I could very easily have negative thoughts and feelings and feel sorry for myself. Instead I am reminded of how blessed my little family is. The fact that I get to communicate with Aaron almost everyday is a huge reason to smile. Knowing my Mum and Dad are only a two hour drive away is another. My biggest reason to smile everyday is because I get to spend all day with the cutest, funniest, most perfect two year old EVER!! She keeps me going everyday. 

What are your reasons to smile?

Sunday, March 16, 2014

~ Extension ~

At the beginning of March, I got a phone call from Aaron. He was very excited to tell me that he was coming home beginning of June. This meant we only had THREE months left!! 
I was extremely happy to know there would be an end to this deployment! 

Two weeks later, I got a phone call from Aaron. He let me know they were keeping him (and almost everyone that deployed with him) probably till November. I was devastated!! I didn't know what to think or how to process this information! I was in complete shock. To go from thinking your husband is coming home in less than three months, to finding out it will be another eight is heartbreaking. I spent most of my that day in tears! I just didn't think I could do it. It really felt like he left all over again. That night, I prayed for a lot of strength and comfort. 

The next day, I drove up to my parents house. As I was driving, I started thinking about how to deal with this extension. I decided to break it up so it wouldn't be so overwhelming. Right now, I am focusing on getting through the rest of March and April. Then, I will focus on getting through May. June and July are the summer months; hopefully, Hannah and I will have a lot of family coming to visit, because I live so close to the beach. Then I just have to get through the beginning of August and  then Aaron gets his R&R. This will lead me into September and October. Then, finally it will be over!!!!

 I had my break down - now it is time to pick myself up and get back to kicking this deployment's butt! 

and it doesn't hurt to wake up and read this . . .
I love you Jaimie. I know your life with me hasn't been easy. and I know that life in the Marine Corps hasn't been that easy for you the last couple of years either. I know its hard for me to be away from you because its hard for me too. I know it can be lonely sometimes and all you want is to be with your love. I also know how strong you are. That no matter what happens you find a way to motivate your self to do something. You apply yourself in different ways. You lose yourself in the church and its work and teachings. You help your family. You do things with Hannah. I know you are strong Jaimie. I know its hard for you to be with out me but I wouldn't be able to do this deployment and the Marine Corps so easily without you. You are my love and my rock. You are so strong. I just wanted to remind you of that. x x x x x x x x x

I am so incredibly proud of my Marine and will be strong for him and Hannah everyday! 
:)




Tuesday, March 11, 2014

~ Book Review : The Collector ~

Book Fourteen : The Collector by Victoria Scott

Her voice has the slightest Southern ring, which might have been endearing, had I not been pressed for time. Boss Man made it crystal clear I have ten days to complete this job, and I always come in under deadline. There's too much riding on this to screw up. If I deliver this one messy soul, I'll be promoted to Soul Director. Like Max said, that means permanent placement on earth. And let me tell you, never having to visit the underworld again? Serious motivation.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.
Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:
Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.
Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.

My Thoughts : I was told that this book is similar to the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, so I had to get it. I can see why it would be in the same category; however, I knew it would not be as good as Lux. 

I did really enjoy it. I thought the story was interesting. A demon sent to earth to collect souls. It was so unique and unlike anything I have read before. Dante was that guy you didn't want to like but you just love him, or at least I did.  He wasn't just a "bad boy" he was a demon. A guy actually sent to work for the underworld. He is "Boss Man's" right hand man. He brings in more souls than any other collector. Yet, there is this good in him. Good that Charlie can see. 

I love that Charlie is your everyday average high school student. She has pimples, croaked teeth, and frizzy hair, someone I think a lot of us can relate with. She had experience such heartache in the past and yet she came out of it trying to make the world better. I love that this book explores real beauty. That we can fall in love with peoples imperfections and potential. That we can see within others things that can not see within themselves. 

I was extremely happy with the ending. I did sorta kinda predict that would happen but it was still a good surprise. I'm excited to see where the series goes. 

I would recommend this book to fans of The Lux Series and Elemental series. It has that same feel. . . . this book does contain a few swear words so be aware of that. 

image from goodreads

Saturday, March 1, 2014

~ Book Review : Burn For Burn ~

Book Thirteen : Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

"We have to be more careful," I say. "No one can ever know what we are up to. What we do together lives and dies with us." Then I clear my throat, because this is the most important part. "And if we're really going to do this, no one can bail halfway through. If you're in, you need to be in until the very end. Until we all get what we want. . . If you can't swear to that, we might as well pretend like tonight never happened."
Mary nods first, then Lillia. I smile, because we're doing this.

Postcard-perfect Jar Island is the kind of place where nobody locks their doors at night, where parents can sleep easy, knowing their daughters are tucked away safe and sound in their beds. 
But bad things can happen, even to good girls . . . and sometimes, the only way to make things right is to do something wrong. 
Lillia used to trust boys, but not anymore. Not after what happened this summer. And she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her little sister from the same fate. 
Kat is over the rumors, the insults, the cruel jokes made at her expense. It all goes back to one person--her ex-best friend. Someone needs to teach her a lesson, and, with Lillia and Mary behind her, Kat feels up to the task.
Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she’s not the same girl anymore. Now that she’s got friends who have her back, he's going to be in big trouble.
Three very different girls who come together to make things right. Will they go too far?

My Thoughts : This was a really random read for me. I went to visit my family and forgot the book I was reading. I only had my kindle app so . . . yeah I read this one. 

This book follows three girls, Lillia, Kat, and Mary. Three very different girls each seeking revenge on a different person, Alex, Rennie, and Reeve. They join forces to help each other out. The things they do to Alex are actually pretty funny but then things start getting more intense and they end up taking one prank a little too far. This book is wrote from each girls perspective. This could get really confusing or annoying, but it didn't. I found each chapter flowing quite nicely into the next. I did find the characters to be a little blah and not very interesting. They were three girls looking to get a little pay back basically. 

This book was just ok for me. It didn't grip me but it was a really quick easy read. It also ended with a tiny bit of a cliff hanger and leaves me debating whether or not to keep going with this series. I think if you are a teenage girl who likes the movie, John Tucker Must Die, then this is your book. 



image from goodreads

~ Care Package #10 ~

I love girl scout cookies!! 
Thin mints are my personal favourite.
I thought it would be nice to send some to Aaron and his friends.


One of my favourite show, is The Office. Aaron hates it; however, there are a couple episodes he finds pretty hilarious. One of these episodes is when the office is the parody video of Kevin as the cookie monster. hmmm I would suggest watching the episode for this box to make sense but Aaron will find it funny : )

It says, Aaron you look delicious . . . . I mean beautiful.


I then filled it with delicious girl scout cookies.
YUMMY!!



Games we Played in February 2022

  February was a big game month for our family. Lilly Belle and I both discovered a love for board games and that left us wanting to play on...