Sendai Mission Video:Hana wa Saku

Seven years ago East Japan was struck with an awful earthquake and tsunami. The disaster happened on March 11th, 2011. Our mission area has made a video in memory of those who lost their lives and to instill hope in the rising generation! This video features ALL of Sendai’s missionaries singing a famous song called “Hana wa Saku” made soon after the tsunami. I’m in there too! For this video to reach the hearts of those all over the world, I need your help. Please like this video on YouTube using the link below!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtcybHPVg4q-Ry-wewavRtg

The memorial date for this earthquake and tsunami is this coming March 11th. If you could share this video with your friends before that date that would be awesome! Thank you for your support and love!

Elder Johnson 

Word for the year 2017

Every year my word for the year list is hard to narrow down.  A couple of Sundays ago I began writing down words that stuck out to me that might be a good direction to go this year and keep me on target with goals.  Some of the words I contemplated this year were:

• Balance
• Disciplined
• Committed
• Love
• Listen
• Teachable
• Nourish
• Temperance
• Time

As I added to my list not one of them stood out.  They all sounded good, but I couldn't get one to click. I reviewed my previous words which you can find here 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012. I couldn't believe I have been doing this for the last five years. 

I began narrowing them down and I still wasn't finding one that was jumping out at me.  

For enrichment this month we are talking about goals and putting together binders to add to every month and making it a continuation throughout the year so the ladies will continue working on their goals.  As a committee we decided we wanted to use the scripture Luke 2:52 which talks about how Jesus increased in "wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with man".  Our goal as an enrichment committee is "PROGRESS...not PERFECTION" and how we are all at different stages of life.

In December we had a lesson on balance and how we have to not focus on one thing, but instead be balanced in all aspects of our life like Jesus increased in those four areas which also could be classified as (mind, body, spirit, and heart).

We decided for the year we wanted the ladies to start with four goals for the year...one for each area.  They can add more goals if they want, but we encourage at least one in all four areas.  Our enrichment is Wednesday night and I am really excited for it! We are going to have demonstrations by the presidency on the four areas and ideas in each of the areas.  We are also going to start a "Sister Progress" that will teach us a small lesson from an Ensign talk each month that will help encourage us in one of the four areas.  We are wearing PINK and having a POTLUCK where everyone will bring a potluck item that starts with the letter P. Then we are putting together our binders and setting our goals.  

But now....back to my word!  I kept thinking what would best help me. I really liked the balance thing so I started thinking about how I could tie it into our year with enrichment.  As I sat in church last Sunday, our Relief Society President taught the introduction to our new manual we would be studying for Relief Society this year which is Teachings of the Prophets.  This year we will be studying President Hinckley!!  I LOVED President Hinckley! I loved his positive nature and his encouraging words when he spoke!  As I continued to sit in Relief Society, my word came to me!!! I realized I wanted to tie my word in to something President Hinckley taught. Different quotes came to my mind, but then it HIT me...his 6 B's.  That was it!!!

I wanted my word to be...

"BE"!

 I went home all excited and looked up his 6 B's, but that didn't feel just right.  I felt like I needed to make my own 6 BE's that would best help me be balanced in all areas of my life!

I continued studying the word "BE" that day...wondering how that could be my word...and sure enough as I began looking at the meaning, it felt RIGHT for ME!!!  

The definitions of "BE" that I found that will be my guide this year:

1. To have the quality or character of something
2. To LIVE: "I think, therefore I am"
3. To have an OBJECTIVE EXISTENCE
4. Synonyms for the word "BE": arise, have life, live, come about, happen, continue, act, DO, carry through, stick to, be present, stand for

I LOVED IT!! That's what I need this year!  To "BE"!!! In all aspects of my life.  From there I put together my 6 "BE's" that I wanted in my life daily!  This year I decided they needed to be things I could do daily, but not overwhelm me! (I think sometimes we set our goals so lofty and high that they are unachievable.)

So I put this together and this is what I came up with that will be my guide this year:

I am SO EXCITED for these 6 "BE's" that will be my guide daily this year! This is how I want to accomplish these goals this year:

1. BE STUDIOUS-I really want to STUDY my scriptures this year...not just read them.  I have set up a reading schedule for myself so I have a little variety. Mondays and Thursdays-study Doctrine and Covenants (since that is the book we are studying in gospel doctrine this year), Tuesdays and Fridays-study President Hinckley's teachings from our Relief Society manual, Wednesdays and Saturdays-study a conference talk from the previous conference, and Sundays-read from that month's Ensign
2. BE HEALTHY-To begin with I want to focus on my water intake every day and my fruits and vegetables...getting the right amount each day.  I will re-evaluate this one each month and add to or change it up if its not working how I want it to.  I have to do this one in moderation though or I don't do very well! My focus will be on moderation and not elimination-because that makes me go CRAZY! Then all I focus on is what I CANT have. Instead I want to focus on what I can have.
3. BE ACTIVE-This one will be a week by week as far as the activities I will do.  I want to incorporate a few different types of exercise and doing activities with my kids.  My main daily goal here will be 30-45 minutes of active activity daily. I also got a new Fitbit so I am going to track my miles.  My goal is 1000 miles for the year...through all daily activity each day. On Sundays this will be a different "BE ACTIVE" goal-not a physical active.  On Sundays this will "BE ACTIVE IN SABBATH DAY OBSERVANCE". I want to make my Sabbath Days more meaningful and do activities that are different and have more meaning and honor the Sabbath Day better.
4. BE GRATEFUL-I love my Grandma Grace's motto: "Love everyone and have a grateful heart". I want to do better at that daily and look for something each day to be grateful for.  I think when we are grateful we are happier! I used to be a good journal writer and write in my journal daily in high school and college.  Over the years I have slacked off and done less.  I want to record each day at least something I was grateful for that day! Maybe if I start there I will get back into the habit of being a better journal writer.  I love reading through the journals I have kept.
5. BE STILL-DAILY!! Life is full of many things that take our time and attention.  I want to take a few minutes a day and really BE STILL! LISTEN to what my Heavenly Father wants to teach me. Listen to guidance from the Holy Ghost.  This may be 5 minutes a day, but I really want to focus on it and sit and BE STILL! The other part of this is to really BE STILL and listen to my kids and Brett and not jump in with my opinion and what I want them doing, but LISTEN to their day and things that are important to them!
6. BE ME!-This one could have so many meanings! As I thought about "BEING ME" I thought "What do I really want this to mean?" I think there are a lot of things in life telling us what we should be...what we should be doing with our time, our money, our looks. The world is teaching us we have to have so many things done to ourselves to be someone special or to be beautiful! WRONG!!! Social media makes us feel like we aren't good enough or we need to be doing ALL OF THESE THINGS to be a good mom or wife.  It gets overwhelming...even all of the good things out there, let alone all of the things we are bombarded with that make us feel we aren't good enough because we don't look a certain way or do a certain thing.  That's not why Heavenly Father put us here on earth. I want to strive not to compare myself to anything but myself and how I am progressing.  I want to REALLY ask Heavenly Father who He wants me to be and how He feels about what I am doing and not doing.  I want Him to teach me...I don't want to be taught by the world.  Along with this, I want to discover my talents and things Heavenly Father wants me doing and enjoying.  I want to do things I enjoy and things that will help me and my family. The first thing I want to do in this area is finish my kids' blankets that I did the tops for from my mom's clothes and have my kids help me tie them.  I think this is different for everyone because Heavenly Father has given us each different talents and abilities.  I want to learn to love myself for who I am and who I can become...and not compare myself and wish for this or that.  Maybe that doesn't make sense to anyone but me, but I want to be happy with being MYSELF!!! That is something I want to teach my kids as well...I don't want them to feel they are not good enough or wish they looked like someone else.  I want them to love who they are and to be themselves!

As we did our first FHE of the year where we review the last year and set our goals, we read them to each other.  Conner commented, "Mom, your goals always sound similar to the ones from the last year." We all laughed.  The more I thought about it, he was right.  Partly because I don't accomplish some, partly because I work on them and want to continue being better at that certain thing!  I am really learning it is all about progress, not perfection.  Some goals are easy to perfect because you can set it, get it done, and move on to other goals.  Other goals aren't a destination, they are a way of life, and we continue to work on them and do a little better each day, each year!  

SO MY ADVICE TO YOU (AND TO ME)...if some of your goals sound the same year after year, don't get discouraged.  Look at it as progress, not perfection!  We have to just keep doing our best!

So here's to a new year...a new YOU! If you haven't set your goals yet, that's ok.  SET THEM!!  Really reflect on what you want to do.  For me this year is going to be one of...

"to "BE" better daily! And as I do this, I want to remember the 6 "BE's" that I want to strive to work on daily! And if I have a bad day...oh well, try a little harder tomorrow!
Maybe I will get a few more blog posts in this year too! (Cross my fingers)

Valentine FHE and Birthday and Super Bowl Celebrations

Last Monday night Bryce was in charge of Family Home Evening.  He found an article in the February New Era titled "Five Ways to Feel Good in 5 Minutes".  We read it for Family Home Evening.  It taught us that even with busy lives we still need to take time each day to find joy even if its for 5 minutes.  Heavenly Father wants us to find joy each day.  He created us to have joy. (2nd Nephi 2:25). There was a great quote in the article from President Uchtdorf that said, "if life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most." The challenge in the article was to start with 5 minutes a day and you will find more joy no matter what our schedules look like.  Here were the 5 ideas in the article to get each of us started:

1. PONDER-Take a few minutes to step back from everything. Take the time to see God's creations around you. Take the time to "be still and know that He is".
2. SHARE A SCRIPTURE- Read a conference talk or search the scriptures for an inspiring quote. Share it with a family member or friend or through social media.
3. EXPRESS GRATITUDE-Keep a little notebook and write down things you are thankful for each day, especially when it's hard to find joy in what you are doing. 
4. GIVE APPRECIATION-Think about the people in your life who encourage and support you-Take time to call or text one of them or write them a letter.  Better yet, do it in person.
5. SECRET SERVICE-There are plenty of 5 minute secret acts of service you can perform around your house or your neighborhood. Do a chore for them, write a note to someone who is feeling down, serve them in some way!

Remember joy and enjoying are two different things. To enjoy something is temporary. Joy is lasting. Joy can be eternal.  Try to find joy each day!

I loved this article because it can be used for any age of children and good for adults as well.  We talked about it and then decided to make these mailboxes to keep up in our home until Valentine's Day.

We were challenged to take a few minutes each day to find joy.  Part of doing that is starting in our own family.  We could do little acts of service for one another. In the mailboxes family members can leave quick notes of love or encouragement, little treats, or something homemade.  

We put our mailboxes on the bar to help us remember to focus on others and to serve. That is where true joy comes.  

And the last thing we did was our hearts to one another that we have done for the last few years for an FHE before Valentine's Day.  This is one of my favorites because we hang them on the door in our home and it reminds each of us why we love one another.  We each take a heart for each person in our family and write one or two things we love about each family member on each heart!  

Oh the joy this activity brings as I listen to each of our kids and my spouse read aloud the thing they wrote about each person! There were even a couple that made my heart so happy that I was close to tears. Conner wrote about how Malorie is his best friend!  (That brings JOY to a mother as she hears her kids say those words to one another!) Malorie wrote how she loves how Kallie will listen to her stories until she falls asleep. (I love thinking my kids are talking and sharing things with one another!) Kallie said Conner is a great example and good at sports.  Malorie wrote Bryce has the best dance moves anyone has seen!  We all got a chuckle out of that one and a few others wrote about Bryce's dance moves.  If any of you have seen Bryce at a South Fremont basketball game, you know what we are talking about!

I could go on and on, but that is one of our favorite FHE activities!  I think it is nice to see the good in others and share it with them!

This weekend was full of birthday celebrations.  It started off with Saturday night.  Dad's birthday was Saturday so some of my siblings and their spouses took him out to dinner.  Of course we let our waitress know it was his birthday and they brought out a big sombrero for him to wear as we all sang happy birthday.

Yesterday we had more birthday celebrations.  It was my Grandma Grace's birthday and the Super Bowl.  We combined the two and had one big celebration.  We also celebrated Dad's birthday again with some of the grandkids and added Conner's birthday too since it's his birthday tomorrow.  

Grandma and Dad came over early and enjoyed the afternoon.  Dad caught her up on pictures of family members on Facebook and shared some funny videos and posts he likes.

The kids were all great to help in the kitchen to get food preparations ready for the party.  I didn't get pics of all of them, but Conner had to make the cream cheese filling to go on his cake.  He didn't want to get his shirt dirty...so I loaned him my apron!  

He was a sport to wear it, and I caught him in it!

We love having family in our home.  We always have to have a birthday picture with any cousins that are present.  We put the 3 birthday people on the couch and had the cousins gather round.

Brett had also invited a guy that doesn't have family around to come over to our home for the evening.  Brett asked him to bring his banjo with him, and he shared his talent as he played some songs on it and then played a few more on Malorie's guitar!  

The kids were mesmerized!

Family is great!  Couldn't think of anything else in this world that makes me more happy than family! And the Broncos even won the Super Bowl which made the whole household happy!

January Happenings

Where did January go?  I can't believe today is February!  January flew...but we enjoyed every day of it!  The snow has been awesome this winter!  I love how much we have and how pretty it is outside! The kids have enjoyed sledding.  We haven't spent much time at the sand dunes this winter, but our kids have taken advantage of Rad's pond to sled in and also have walked to our neighbor/cousin's house and sledding on their hill!

Along with the snow has come some beautiful sunrises and sunsets!  We really live in a beautiful place!

Brett took these one morning on his way to work!  I love the Tetons in them!

Bryce and Kallie love spending time with Kallie and Cole Crapo.  It is nice they have both kids that are the same age as our kids!  Mandi is so good to have them over...even when they are so goofy!

This month was the basketball month for ALL of our kids!  Kallie and Bryce had Saturday clinics and games!  They really enjoyed spending those Saturdays playing ball and being with friends!  I think it is as much for the social as it is for the sport!

We have had fun watching them both play!

Malorie could NOT wait to take her driving tests!  She took the driving test first and then took the written!  I was a little nervous for her the day she took the driving test because it was so snowy!  I was worried about the slick roads, but she passed with flying colors!  She also passed her written test!  Way to go MAL!! While we were gone that night, my sister-in-law, Jaimie, and her kids and Bryce and Kallie decorated our entryway!

Malorie was so surprised and so excited! Can't believe we have two kids driving now!
The kids had a Monday off of school so I took the kids to a movie.  Malorie and I were so excited to have a whole theater to ourselves to watch Mockingjay...

until it didn't work and we had to go into the movie the other two were watching...The Good Dinosaur.
Bryce had a fun Pack Meeting with a carnival theme this month.  All of the families got to participate in the games.

Each scout was in charge of a game.  Bryce was in charge of the balloon dart throw!  He loved being in charge of his game!

Basketball, basketball, basketball!  We LOVE it!  Some weeks this month we have had 5 games a week.  We have learned that's what happens when you have a daughter and son in high school and they both play on the high school teams!  We love being where our kids are and watching them in their activities.  Malorie just finished her season on Friday!  She played awesome!  Her team had a great year!  They ended up with a record of 15-5.

She still sticks that tongue out when she plays sports!  We always know when she is concentrating very hard because out it comes!

We tease her she is going to bite it off someday! This was her first year in high school and she made the jv team.

Conner is still playing basketball.  He has had a great season too!  He has grown a ton and is now playing post.  He is a great defensive player!

We love watching him take a charge and rebound the ball!  He can jump so high!

Our whole family loves going to games!  Our younger kids never forget their red and black for the games!  They are true cougars!

They love meeting up with their friends at the games!

Bryce loves dancing when the band plays!  Saturday night we played our rival...Sugar City Diggers at home!  Our gym was packed!  We had a super student section!

It was so loud in the gym you could hardly talk to the person sitting next to you!  But it was awesome!  The best part was we beat them!

Boys basketball continues into February!

Hopefully the cougars can continue having a great season!  Maybe it will be another year to state!  Cross our fingers!  Hope you all had a great January!  Now on to February!

A Summer with Great Aunt Rose

This morning for my scripture reading, I reread the talk from President Uchtdorf from this fall's General Women's Conference entitled "A Summer with Great Aunt Rose". As I read I realized how many things can be learned from this one great talk!  There is always a message in each talk, but as I began this talk Elder Uchtdorf states, "Today, I too will give my message by expressing my thoughts and feelings in the form of a story.  I invite you to listen with the Spirit.  The Holy Ghost will help you to find the message for you in this parable."
As I read, I found many lessons that I loved and that stood out to me today! This talk ties in so well with the word SHINE that I am using as a theme for my year.  You can read more about  this post that I wrote about my goals for 2016.

I want to give you the same challenge that Elder Uchtdorf gave in his talk.  Read this talk and listen with the Spirit and the Holy Ghost will teach you what you need to hear in your life at this time. You can read the talk here. I would love you to share the things that stood out to you as you read this talk!  That is the blessing of the Spirit as he shares SPECIFIC things that each of us can use in our lives!  It's not meant to be the exact same for each of us because each of us are different and at different stages of life! As I read, I wrote along the margins the things that came to my mind.

Here are the messages I found for ME as I read this talk this morning:

• We can't judge people on the "outside". We have to know their hearts and what's inside of them.  That's where true beauty comes from. A lot of us struggle with our looks or what the world thinks we should look like...our clothes, our weight, our hair and makeup...everything on the outside, but that's not where TRUE BEAUTY comes from.  It comes from inside and loving ourselves for who we are!
• As I read the story I thought a lot about my mom.  People loved my mom for who she was.  She was caring, fun, a good listener, non-judgmental of people. She loved life and she loved people.  People felt comfortable around her and talking to her. I have learned many things from her as she has passed away and I have had to ponder what really matters in life. She taught me MANY great things while she was here on earth, but it is amazing how much I continue to learn from her and her life as she is in heaven!
• We can be HAPPY in any circumstance as long as we are thankful and grateful, read our scriptures, and have a REAL relationship with Heavenly Father, and don't dwell on what we don't have or what trials we are going through!
• The best things in life don't come with a flip of a switch!  They take patience and hard work! (Out to the side I wrote that I was grateful my mom taught me to can. It is for sure easier to go to the store and buy the canned vegetables and fruit, but that doesn't teach patience and work.  I love passing that teaching on to my kids as they help me can!)
• When we are happy (or SHINE), others around us can feel HAPPY! We can influence others!  This can also have the reverse effect if we dwell on the negative and are sad and complaining. "God didn't design us to be sad. He created us to have JOY! So if we trust Him, He will help us to notice the good, bright, hopeful things of life. And sure enough, the world will become brighter."
• Service makes us happy! Think of others before yourself!
• NOW is part of eternity!  Don't look forward to being happy later!  Be HAPPY now!
• Don't be so busy that we forget what matters most....LOVE!
  
• And I loved this picture in his talk, which made me think: We all have choices to make every day...How will I walk along my path each day? Will I skip? Or will I hang my head and drag my feet? My story CAN have a happy ending! We all have trials, but lets find joy in the journey!

I loved this talk.  I remember hearing it at the women's broadcast, but rereading it hit me SO POWERFULLY!!  It rang so true to me and I want to reread it many more times this year as I strive to SHINE and be the daughter of God Heavenly Father wants me to be!  

Last year of single digits!

How does time fly so fast from this...

to this...

As much as I would love time to turn back or slow down, I really ENJOY the ages of our kids right now!  They are so involved and engaged in good things!  I love watching their eyes sparkle as they tell us about something they have accomplished, or something funny somebody said, or just telling us about their day at school.
This boy of ours doesn't disappoint!  He always has a great story to tell with that big smile on his face! He celebrated his last single digit birthday this week; which means this is the last year we will have a child in the single digits!  WHAT!!??

Celebrations started on Sunday night with some of our extended families coming over to enjoy the evening with us.  We always miss the ones that live farther away and the ones that aren't able to make it.  We love having our home full of family!  There is no greater thing in life than being with LOTS of family!

And boy oh boy did we realize there were a lot of cousins over that night!

It is fun to see them grow!  I love having the birthday "cousin" pictures and seeing the changes in all of them and seeing which cousin really doesn't want to be in the picture!  There is always someone crying or pulling a silly face!  I love it!
Bryce really wanted a car cake! He actually wanted a race track in the shape of a 9 with cars on it!  We settled for nine hot wheels and nine candles!

I convinced him he had already had a birthday with a race track on it for this birthday!

So low and behold we got the cake with 9 hot wheels and he is ready to blow out those candles!

Ready, set, go!!

At Christmas time, Bryce wrote me a cute Christmas card!

He always thinks we go to Costa Vida without him!  He is actually pretty correct about that!  That is a spot you will find us on a lot of dates!  We love the food and the price! We decided it would be fun for me to take him on a lunch date there for his birthday!  The best part would be missing half a day of school!  However he didn't want to miss his actual birthday day because he wanted to hand out his cupcakes after lunch.
We settled on the day before his birthday, and the two of us enjoyed lunch at Costa Vida!

They even brought him out a little cake!  He was already so full from lunch he took almost the whole thing home!

On his actual birthday we didn't open presents until about 9:30 that night because Conner had a basketball game that night!  He was excited to be at a basketball game on his birthday!  He especially loves when the band is at the high school games and he can dance to their songs! He has quite the dance moves!
He was super excited to open his presents!  He got a tv tray which he was thrilled about.

We have always had two tv trays, but they are strawberry shortcake and flowers.  He has been a good sport all of these years to not complain (TOO MUCH) about it!
Another gift was his Bear Scout book and a sketch book for him to draw in!  He loves to draw!

He also got a new over-the-shoulder school bag and snow boots and a turtle pet (a stuffed one)!
Happy birthday Bryce!

We sure love you and the joy you bring into our family!