It's the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year...

  Enjoy these RELICS...HAHA! These photos are of our 1st Christmas together, 8 years ago!

Clint gave me this beautiful necklace, I used to wear it everyday but not so much anymore because it's so short. 
However, I ALWAYS wear it on Christmas!!

I gave Clint the Mr. Potato Head Silly Suitcase...knowing him now, he probably already had it & was just trying to be sweet because he knew how excited I was to give it to him! He's STILL collecting them today, LOVE it!

We, at the Miner household LOVE Christmas! We've had an enjoyable month filled with family, friends & fun. We started out crazy busy but have finally slowed to an enjoyable pace this past week, busy but managable! We've been busy "making spirits bright" as best we could & look forward to the joy & excitment of Christmas day. We have been truly blessed this year & are so grateful for the greatest gift of all, our Savior & for the sacrafice he made on our behalf. We hope you all have a blessed & memorable Christmas shared with those most dear to you. 

Merrily, 

Clint & Heather

p.s- we really miss the munchkins below this year! 

Tyler kept a more simple approach!

Miss. Brooklyn was SO proud of herself for adding the ribbon!

Carson was digging the RED!

Halle Kate's 1st Christmas

My parents give each grandchild their own tree to decorate however they'd like each year...

this was last years sampling!

It's all in your perspective

Did you ever try to find shapes in the clouds when you were a kid? So did I! I actually still do...I even look for them other places. 

For example, I have this shower curtain in my guest bath that is red, with these large white abstract circles. I was fussing with my hair the other day & noticed a shape in one of the circles. It looked like George Washington. As I continued with my hair I noticed another shape, this one looked like a Renaissance man with a feather coming out of his hat. While finishing up & looking at the curtain again I saw what appeared to be a rabbit! Upon closer examination, I realized that these shapes were all in the exact same spot in the circle but had appeared different because of my perspective. 

This got me thinking. Life really is all about your perspective!

Life seems to be so busy for me recently & I've felt like I needed to sit down & reflect on those things I am most grateful this Thanksgiving Season. Through all that is good & through the adversity I encounter one thing remains constant, living life in Thanksgiving. It seems easy to be thankful when times are easy & life seems as if it's going according to plan. I've also learned that it can be just as easy to have gratitude in your heart when things aren't perfect!

I have been blessed beyond measure this year & have felt the hand of God in my life as I've tried to overcome my personal struggles. I've learned to rely on my Heavenly Father more often, knowing that He truly is there & will give peace to my heart & answers to my prayers. This is something I will be eternally grateful for. 

I am thankful for my family. It's funny how your perspective can change so much about family. When I was a teenager, they just embarrassed me. When I got to college I'm not sure I needed them that much. When I first got married, I felt like I was on top of the world & was happy with my new little family. I've learned over the past few years that family is really all you've got in this life. Clint & I have tried so hard to strengthen family relationships & I can honestly say that this has been a huge blessing to us. Just having the perspective that these relationships we are building & strengthening will leave this earth with us when we die changes the way we see people & the way we interact with them, the time we make to spend with them & the sometimes quiet sacrifices we make to support them.

Another perspective I'm working very hard on, is seeing the best in others. I know it's easy to point out the flaws people have. It's easy to pass judgment. It's hard to look at each person you meet & think of them in a way which elevates them. I think you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. I think this is something I will always be working on, but I know that it's getting easier for me to see the good & it's helping me grow into the woman I'm striving to become.

Sometimes we see one thing, or several when we look at a situation, but the most important thing we can do is keep an eternal perspective. We are spiritual beings having a mortal experience. I’m glad to have a knowledge, born of the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and sent from God, that there is much more. That my existence and being is patterned after our Eternal, Heavenly Father. Having this perspective can make life so much easier & more fulfilled! 

All is well

I've been M.I.A in blog land...but it's been for at least one good reason!

In early July I was called as the Young Womens president in our ward. Wow! What an amazing & humbling experience it has been thus far. I was shocked when I was asked to serve in this capacity. I just kept thinking about all the ways in which I wasn't qualified for a task so great. The spirit quietly whispered to my heart to not forget all the ways in which I was qualified for a task so great. I still have times when it is so incredibly overwhelming, because of the inadequacies I feel, but those are the times the Lord is able teach me of the things I can do better & the things that I'm doing well.

I feel like I am constantly in evaluation mode. When activities or meetings go poorly I wonder what I didn't do right, when they go well, I wonder what we could have done to make them even better. I'm not sure I'll ever be 100% content in this calling.

It has taken a ton of time...in ward council recently someone suggestion serving as a president in the church is like taking on a 2nd part-time job if you try, & if you try as hard as you should it is like taking on a 2nd full-time job. I didn't realize the truth to that statement at the time...I do now! There is always something to be done.

I was super shocked yet excited when I first got called. I knew it was going to be tons of fun & I was very excited about who the Lord chose for me to call to work with me. There is so much to be taught & so little time to do the teaching & these women help lighten my load.

I have enjoyed this journey so far. I have cried, been frustrated & wondered how on earth anyone would think I was capable of something so extraordinary! I am so grateful I have felt the precise & clear guidance of the spirit in making decisions, which has been a huge blessing to our girls. I have felt the love & support of our bishopric as I've prayerfully considered the direction & emphasis our girls needed. I've felt the strength of the women that serve by my side, they have so much to offer & may even touch these girls lives more than I will.

Through all the stress & anxiety that comes with a call like this, I have a hymn that always comes to my mind & offers a sweet assurance that everything will be ok. It's one that came into my mind when the spirit testified to me of my calling & when I instantly felt the anxiety creeping in, just as I do every so often, I think of it & read the words frequently & feel at peace.

Come, come, ye saints, no toil nor labor fear;

But with joy wend your way.

Though hard to you this journey may appear,

Grace shall be as your day.

Tis better far for us to strive our useless cares from us to drive;

Do this, and joy your hearts will swell -

All is well! All is well!

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
'Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward if we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we'll have this tale to tell-
All is well! All is well!

All is well, & all will be well! I know that this journey will be hard, but oh how sweet will the reward be in the end. When I am released from serving in this capacity & I can hold my head high, knowing I did my very best for these girls! I have much work to do, not just in our organization, but in my personal life, for me. I love the quote below about what the Lord needs from us as women. I think that it is helping shape me into the leader that my Father in Heaven needs me to be for these girls. 

“Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.”

(Margaret D. Nadauld “The Joy of Womanhood,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 15)

So, if I'm missing from blogland, it's not because I don't want to be here. It's because there are much more important things going on right now & I promise I'll be back as I have time!! I do have quiet a few posts that are almost ready to go & do have a trip I can't wait to take & blog about after my return! 

Until next time,
Heather =)

The Big Easy

While we were in New Orleans we worked really hard, but we also had a little time to enjoy the city inbetween unpacking boxes & torrential rain storms! It was a lot of fun helping the Jardine Family get settled, but so much work! 

We visited a national preserve & saw all kinds of creatures including dragon flies, spiders, alligators, birds, snakes, frogs & nutria rats. It will forever be etched in my mind as one of the most horrifying experieces to date. I came within 2 feet of a snake...a cottonmouth. EWWW! I literally felt my heart stopping. I was FLIPPING out & just started backing up as fast as I could. The part that made it worse for me was that I had just taken over pushing Halle Kate in the stroller, so I was so afraid the "S" would strike & hurt her. Then what do you know, my husband runs up to it & took photos of it. Seriously...he's all boy! I decided not to put photos of that thing on here, I would hate scrolling through these pages & seeing it...yuck! Oh, & for those of you that don't know, I'm deathly afraid of 2 things. Snakes & Bridges over water. 

Wouldn't you know that on the way home from this beautiful swamp, which by the way Tyler & Clint loved, as we were crossing the Mississippi River we got stuck in traffic. Above the Mississippi on the Huey P Long Bridge . It was opened in December 1935... that's 75 years old folks! It houses 4 lanes of traffic & 2 lanes of trains! And the best part is it's 135 feet ABOVE the water. As we were crossing it & I was trying to remain calm I causally said, "what is this today, fear factor?", of course Amber & Clint thought that was hilarious. I didn't laugh, I just wanted to be off that bridge! Thank goodness we made it across! 

We also went to City Park & The French Quarter after enjoying some amazing BBQ! 

But one of the best parts of the trip aside from the rain (we all know how much I love rain) was spending time with Melanie, one of my oldest & dearest friends. She came out to help us get Amber settled in & we had an absolute blast! We had so many fond memories of high school & enjoyed all the giggling & inside jokes!

Enjoy the photos below!!

A lot of work & Some play

Amber & the munchkins getting ready for our big adventure through the swamp & excited about becoming Jr. Rangers!

Well hello there!

I can't believe we're taking 4 little kids on a trail through a swamp...scary!

Down in the swamp

Tyler snapped this photo of Clint at the end of the swamp, we've got a budding photographer on our hands folks!

She's really not sure she want's to be in the swamp... I second that Halle Kate!

I don't think I've ever seen bigger bugs then when we were down in this swamp!

A REAL LIVE SWAMP!!!

This is one of the Gators Ty & Clint saw at the end of the trail.

Ty-man at the end of the swamp trail!

Can you see the alligator? The head is facing the bottom of the photo.

The nest few are of CJ...I know, there are a lot of him! He's kinda my favorite!! I fully admit it, those big brown eyes had me at hello!

Well hello! This is the only picture we snapped the entire trip of just me, good thing it's a cute one! lol

Yaya taking a break

We love the moss covered trees in the south.

Um...can you say humidity!!!

B playing at City Park in NOLA

I thought this was the sweetest little house/office conversion, I would love to have a little shop like this!

The happy couple waiting to order at the infamous Squeal BBQ in Uptown

Miss. B with her Daddy-o

Pulled pork, black eyed pea & kielbasa egg rolls...holy moly they were D-VINE!

Team Jardine

The Miner Family in front of the best bbq joint I've EVER been to!

This is a photo of a bridge across the Mississippi at night, for reals! haha

In the Uptown neighborhood all the street corners have these cute name tiles... I was smitten!

A pretty historic church in the French Quarter, I forgot the name of it,  & obviously didn't know how to work the night mode on my camera! lol

The Jardine Clan loving a "midnight" snack!

Brooklyn loved the beignets!

Man I'm tan! lol! In the French Quarter the night before Clint left Nola.

Ha! They really exist!

An old bridge I was stuck on over the Mississippi for way to long!

Amber & Mel putting up vinyl on the wall...which we later took down!

Amber, Melanie & I waiting to see Twilight...

CJ showing off his " I <3 auntie h" tattoo!!! hahahah!

Me with the Woods Family...Corrie is preggo with their last baby... a girl!

Melanie, Corrie, Bentlee & Lee

The Jardi"eaux" family...are they ready for this?!!

The kiddos with their favorite auntie h...my last night in NOLA :(

Melanie & Gavin

Brooklyn & Gideon (the future mr. & mrs. lol!)

Tyler & Carson on their new bunk beds!