Simply Jaimie

Book of Mormon Widows and Daughters of Nephites Slain Protecting the People of Ammon Alma 28:5 "yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and their daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain." Scriptures like these really tug at my heart strings. For five years (including one deployment), I was a wife of a United States Marine. I remember sitting in that pre-deployment meeting with other wives, mothers, and girlfriends. It lasted a couple hours, and covered everything that would or could happen during our loved ones deployment; including, the procedure that would take place if our loved one was killed in action. They talked about who would come to our door, how many people would show up, and what uniform they would be wearing. It was very specific and I prayed with all my heart that I ...

That They May Be One click here to read the message  Made two different handouts - feel free to use one or both! 4x6 regular size printing paper 4x6 regular size printing paper y ou are welcome to use these handouts simply click to englare the picture then right click, save as, and print you can also save and upload to costco (or any photo place) for a more photo like finish

Book of Mormon King Lamoni's Mother (Queen of the Lamanites) Alma 22 : 19-24 Lamanite woman, Wife of the King of the Lamanites, King Lamoni's mother It is hard not to compare the reaction of King Lamoni's mother to King Lamoni's wife ( knowing their names would probably make that sentence less confusing.) We know, from the scriptures, King Lamoni's wife mourned for her husband, and then, not being convinced he was dead, inquired of Ammon. She believed his words, and stayed by her husbands side until he woke (pictured on the left.) She then fell to the earth. Was awoken by the hand of Abish, and shared her testimony with the people that were gathered. King Lamoni's mother, on the other hand, had a very different reaction when she saw that her husband laying on the ground. She reacted with Anger. She wanted Aaron and his brethren dead. When the servants wouldn't kill him, she had then get the people. Aaron, seeing her determination, p...

Book of Mormon Abish Alma 19 Lamanite woman, servant of King Lamoni, been converted unto the Lord for many years Abish is one of the few women who are actually named in the Book of Mormon. I could be wrong, which happens, but the only other named woman I can think of is Sariah  (let me know if there are others.) Things we know about her from the scriptures *lamanite servant (Alma 19:16) *had been converted unto the Lord for many years (Alma 19:16) *kept her conversion a secret (Alma 19:17) *knew the power of God was the reason King Lamoni, his wife, and Ammon lay upon the earth (Alma 19:17) *ran from house to house sharing the news of what had happened in hope the people would believe (Alma 19:17) *was brought to tears when she saw the contention among the people (Alma 19:28) *with faith she took the hand of the queen hoping it would wake her (Alma 19:29) Abish was a lamanite servant who had been converted to the Lord for many years; yet,...

Book of Mormon King Lamoni's Wife Alma 18:43 Alma 19 wife of King Lamoni, she is a Lamanite, taught the gospel by Ammon. Was sure her husband was not dead after he fell to the earth because he did not stink. It has been a long time since I have wrote about any woman in the scriptures. However, this morning, as I was studying about King Lamoni's conversion, I felt inspired to write a little about his wife, the queen.  My parents are both active members of the church, and I have been going to church since I was born. It is more than just something I do on a Sunday, it is a part of my very being. When I read about King Lamoni's wife, I have to remind myself that this was not a woman who had any prior knowledge of the gospel. The Lamanites were raised to hate the Nephites. The scriptures describe the Lamanites as a " wild, hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering, robbing and plundering the Nephites. "  Not only tha...

I did it!  I have read all the wonderful talks from General Conference as part of my daily scripture reading. I learned something from each and everyone of them; however, there were some that left me with a greater desire to do better! It was interesting to see if my favourite talks, from when I watched conference, were still my favourite talks now that I was reading them. There were some changes. There were also some talks, in my top five, that I swear I don't not remember hearing at all (even though I did.) I am excited to re-read the talks again and see if my top five list changes in any way. I will definitely update when I have finished reading them again. (if you want to read any of these talks simply click on the title) Here are my favorite talks from Conference! 1. Return and Receive by Elder M. Russell Ballard To return to God's presence and to receive the eternal blessings that come from making and keeping covenants are the most important goals we c...

We are half way through the year!  As unbelievable as that is, it is a really good time to review our goals and adjust them if necessary. I found this quote online and really liked it. I know that when our goals are worthy and fit in with God's plan for us, whether they be spiritual, physical, or mental oriented goals, we CAN achieve them. We can become better because of them. 

I have fallen in love with a series of podcasts from the Mormon Channel. They are called gospel solutions for families, and so far I have listened to three of them. The quote above was taken from one called, Taming Technology in the Home. It wasn't focused on limiting our kids to an hour a day, but rather how to educate and empower our children to make good decisions with their technology. The entire half hour video (below) I was taking notes and thinking of ways to implement what I was hearing. My favourite part of the quote above is the last line where it says, "They (our devices) need to be our servants, not our masters." How often do we stop what we are doing when our phone alert us of a new text message, facebook notifacation, or email? I know I am guilty of this.  One thing that really stood out to me was when they mentioned that research strong supports that excessive amounts of television, technology, phones, and tablets bring aggression in a home.  We cr...

Beck recently went for his six month check up. I really didn't want to go because I left the last one feeling very indifferent. This one, however, went really well. The doctor decided against him seeing a specialist about his flat head which doesn't look crazy flat anymore. He said you can tell it isn't as round as other babies his age, but it's not flat enough to make a fuss about. I was happy about that. The doctor also wants to wean him of his medicine which is great news. With a 92% chance of growing out of his urinary reflux, Aaron and I were concerned about keeping on his daily dose of medicine everyday for just over a year. I'm was so glad the doctor agreed.  I was also happy to answer the developmental questions because he has made great improvements. He can roll from front to back and back to front. He can sit (kinda) all by himself, he does wobble a bit. He can also move (backwards) when laying on his belly. He also giggles a lot. He still cries a l...

We have family coming next week so have been looking for fun, and inexpensive, things to do. I had read a blog post about dripping rock , and decided to take the family and go check it out.  It was a really nice, and stroller friendly, trail. It was flat and covered with trees. We went around 7:30pm and walked and played for about an hour. It was still bright when we left.  The trail down to the stream was a bit steep, but doable. The girls loved it! Next time, we are going to go in bathing suits and swim shoes. I will also be updating this post with more pictures after I take the family! the path down to the stream

Last week, I read a talk by Elder M. Russel Ballard entitled Return and Receive . It was amazing, and went along perfectly with a video I had just watch entitled, How to Get Anything You Want . Both talked about having a vision/goal for where you want to end up.  M. Russell Ballard said, "Knowing where you are going and how you expect to get there can bring, meaning, purpose, and accomplishment to life." The video focuses more on the Law of Attraction, and putting positivity into the world. It also talked about having dreams and working hard to achieve them.  Both the talk and the video came, of course - tender mercy, into my life at the perfect time. I needed some inspiration and motivation to get going on my goals and dreams, and working hard to achieve them. 

Last night, I made jacket potatoes for dinner. I love mine with butter, cheese, baked beans, and once in a while, I will top it with a fried egg. DELICIOUS! Every time I make jacket potatoes, I always think about my Aunt Les - who may kill me for this post - this is her oven in the picture. We were sitting in her living room, watching TV, when we heard a bang. A very loud bang that came from the kitchen. When we opened the oven, this is what we saw. One of the potatoes had, as you can see, exploded!  I don't know why it was so funny, or why this memory has stuck out over countless others, but I love this memory. I told my Aunt not to do anything until after I took a picture. I still giggle just thinking about it.   Here is a tip for making jacket potatoes. Don't forget to prick the potatoes BEFORE putting them in the oven to bake :) just a side note my aunt is a really good cook, and two of my favorite dinners that she makes are bacon pasta and veggie curry...

Today I want to share with you why I decided to adapt a minimalist or more simplified lifestyle.  Disclaimer - I don't consider myself to be a true 10 possession type minimalist. I am also still in the process of decluttering, and hope to be done soon. I was feeling overwhelmed. Every time we had to move, I would find myself asking the same questions. Why do we have so much stuff? Where did all this stuff come from? When did we get this? Why do we even own this?  We were literally moving boxes and never unpacking them. Still today, I know there are boxes in the garage that have not been unpacked. I couldn't even tell you what was in them. My guess would be blankets and stuffed animals. If we don't feel the need to waste time unpacking these boxes, then why even have them?  I also hated opening my closet (which was overrun by clothes and shoes) and feeling like I had absolutely nothing to wear! I also noticed that I was wearing the same pair of j...