Watch where you put your feet

 Who would ever think that a foot stool designer would create a foot stool that puts holes in your feet?  I guess one is suppose to be smarter than the stool and know never to get near the foot stool with bare feet.

The foot stool that puts holes in your feet

   We were living in Alabama as missionaries a few years ago and it's really hot there, actually its the humidity that is so high it's almost unbearable in the summer.  Anyway, going barefoot around the apartment after work was the norm.

   One night John accidently tripped in the dark and stepped on the bottom of the foot stool and oh, did he holler. The leg of the foot stool went right through the bottom of his foot.  It took his foot weeks to heal and even longer before he could fit a pair of shoes on his feet.  Moral of the story:

Keep your feet on the right track:

one slip up and it can cause you pain and sorrow.

John's foot after slipping from the foot stool

     Telling this story reminds me of one of my adventures when I was 14 years old.   I went for two weeks to the New York World's Fair with a youth group, from our church.  We rode on a bus from Ogden to New York and stopped along the way to see all the church and historical sights.  We camped out each evening except when we were in the big cities then we would stay in a hotel. 

      As we checked into our hotel in New York City, a group of girls decided to go see the famous Macy's department store.  One of my friends and I joined the older girls and thought it would be great fun to see the big city.  When we got into Macy's someone said "when the bell rings at closing hour, meet here at these big pillars."  So the two of us took off to browse around. 

      It was very easy to hear the big bell ring announcing the closing of the store.  We went to find the big pillars to meet the older girls and realized there were big pillars everywhere.  Neither of us knew where to go, we just kept looking around for something familiar.  After awhile we decided to just find our way back to the hotel on our own, we didn't even know which of the dozen doors to go out of and we didn't know the street we entered on and neither of us paid attention to the name of our hotel. 

      Oh dear, we didn't know where we are staying, even if we found a police man to give assistance we couldn't give him any information that would help us.  After a silent prayer I said, let's just go out these doors here and see if we can find our hotel.  As we were walking down the street, with rushing crowds of people all going home and trying to get out of the city, we realized we were in quite a predicament and began to get pretty scared, then I suddenly turned my head and caught the back side of some of the girls in our tour group going in the opposite direction.  We ran with joyful hearts across the street to join them. 

      We didn't dare tell them we were lost and that we didn't even know the name of our hotel.  That night was a night I will never forget as the noise from the city and the flashing lights of the signs in front of our window reminded me all night long how blessed I was to find our church group and be safe inside the hotel. I never realized at the time how much trouble my feet could have gotten me into.

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, 

so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep

 physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path,

 we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.

Henry David Thoreau

Nuts and Bolts

Nuts and Bolts

     A while back, I packed my bags to go spend a few days with my daughter Emily and her family.  I was scheduled to have a procedure at the hospital at 11:30 and then leave from there to Payson, which is about 2 hours away. I had to drink this nasty stuff before the scan, and then found out they had to give me more in my veins when I arrived at the hospital.  They made me drink so much of it, I got sick afterwards and had to throw up.  Anyway,  I felt too yucky to leave for Payson so I just drove home to rest.  

A few great missionaries from Alabama
Look at that beautiful tree

     Early the next morning my husband took my car to our mechanic to check on a noise we had been hearing whenever we went through a gutter or turned right or left.  The mechanic checked it out and said “You are lucky the whole front of your car didn’t crash to the ground.  The wheel assembly, with brakes and all,was barely hanging on. There are suppose to be 5 big bolts and nuts holding the front end together and all that is left is one bolt that is ready to fall off.   All it would take is one more bump and your front end would be on the ground.” 

     When my husband told me of his findings I realized I would have been on the freeway the day before for 2 hours and most likely would have been in a serious accident.  Instead, I got sick to my stomach from drinking too much contrast and felt I needed to postpone my trip to Payson.   Was that a coincidence?  Or was it providence?  I think the latter.  I feel like I am always being protected from day to day.

  Many years ago I heard the definition of coincidence…it was to co-in-side, fit together perfectly, as scheduled, as planned.  So using that definition, I guess it could have been a coincidence through providence, because everything happened perfectly for my safety and well being.

Final Words

   The final words written before a person dies are in most cases the most important words of their entire lifetime. 
 I have wondered many times what my final counsel would be to my children if I knew my life was about to end.    church the other day, one of my favorite prophets,  Lehi ,knew he was about to die,  so he gathered his childrher for his last piece of advice.  
In church a few weeks ago we were reading about Lehi the prophet, he knew he was going to pass on and so he gathered his children together and these were his words to them. "Remember the words of your dying parent."

     

     "Wake up, awake from a deep sleep, even from the sleep of hell, hear the words of a trembling parent whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from where no traveler can return.”  He then pleads with his sons to soften their hearts and obey the commandments of God.  He continues to say, “shake off the chains with which ye are bound."

   “ Wake up and be men."  Now, that one sentence became quite a discussion about what it means to be a man.  A man in God’s eyes is completely different than a man in the eyes of the world.  I have noticed for several years now when I have caught a glimpse of the TV,  most movies portray man as irresponsible, a pleasure seeker, not caring for anyone except himself, in and out of relationships like there is no tomorrow.  His focus in life is to get the biggest and best toys.  Families are not on his priority list and portrayed as unimportant to him.

     Then a list was made of what Lehi meant men were to be like!  The list ended up like this: 

God fearing

Family loving

Kind

Patient

Serves his family

Honors and respects his wife,

Takes his responsibility of husband and father seriously 

    When I see my sons and son-in-laws, step up as real men putting their responsibilities and priorities in order, it is a payday for me as a mother. I feel so fortunate to know many real men in my life staring with my husband, and many others, even though the media wants me to believe they are a thing of the past.  


    How grateful I feel to have the scriptures to remind me of the great men in history, as well as the lousy ones.  If we don’t learn from the past we may make the mistake in the future.

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Valentine's day

 Love is in the air,  anyway it should be.My heart goes out to those who don't feel loved by anyone.Their spouses have passed away, or they are alone, whether on a deserted island or alone among groups of people, and they feel abandoned.I have felt alone at times when there are crowds of people around me.At other times I felt loved when no one is around for miles.

       I thought of Moroni,  as he spent his last years being totally alone, in hiding for fear he would be captured by the enemy.  His words were so powerful when he said “I wish I had  lived when I could have had fellowship with the Saints.”  What would it be like to have no one to talk to, and to live in fear at all times, and feel the great responsibility to protect all the volumes of writings he had been entrusted with?

     He must have known assuredly that his Heavenly Father loved him, and all he was doing was important and it would be worth it.

    My most memorable Valentine's day didn't start out that way.  My mother asked us if we would help her do sealings in the Ogden temple.  It wasn't my idea of the best way to spend the day with my husband, but we agreed to go help. The sealings were for my mother's side of the family.  After several sealing s, the officiator stopped and said "Do you have any idea how happy these couples are today on Valentine's day to have this ordinance done?"  He said, "even though they have been on the other side several hundred years, they have not been together as husband and wife until right now."  Tears filled my eyes as I caught the vision of the importance of what we were doing that very moment and it did become a very memorable Valentine's Day I will never forget. 


    

     I think of all our military personnel away from their loved ones at this time.  I hope love will permeate through the air today, that each may know we appreciate and love them as they are trying to keep us safe.

 

A few of our precious grandchildren

  

 

Skip the advice

My mother
Juanita

 Advice

    He who speaks from the lips chatters. He who speaks from his heart wins the confidence of mankind. He who speaks from his soul heals the heartbreaks of a world and feeds the hungry, starving souls of men.  He can bring light, for it is carried in his words.
     My mother (who I think is a real saint), never gives advice.  She is a very wise person and has had 85 years of experience in this life and I might add “is as sharp as a tack”.  When I really need her opinion on a subject, its like “pulling teeth”, in other words it’s difficult to get her opinion on any subject.  Usually she will say “let me think about it”, and then later she will bring me an article to read or have me study a certain subject.  And I am her daughter and I know what areas she is an expert in, yet she wants me to do my homework and come to my own conclusions.  I am not her neighbor, distant relative or just an acquaintance.  I think that is why she is loved by so many people because she isn’t opinionated on every subject and never gives advice.  She is good at getting others to talk about themselves and she just listens.  She is a great listener.

     I, on the other hand talk way too much.  I have an opinion on everything.  And I offer it even when people don’t ask for it.   The older I get the more I realize I would be wise to follow more in the footsteps of my mother.

  Listen more, talk less

     Even though I think I have really good advice, it’s only really good for me, not for others.  It's OK to get peoples opinions on things, but don't believe anyone.  I am finally learning to encourage others to get their advice from the source, Heavenly Father, who has given a promise that, we can know ALL things.  It will be specific for our individual needs and will never fail us.  So if we want tailor made, personalized guidance pertaining to our lives, we really don’t need a fortune teller or a soothsayer to give us advice or to rely on the arm of flesh in any shape or form.

People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. 

They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, 

hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them.

 The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.

Fear of Fire

Our Home would have burned

The red curling iron and flashlight

     I was awakened suddenly about 11:00 pm from a deep sleep.  I could sense something was wrong.  I was very tired and did not want to get out of bed, I was so dead tired I would have gone back to sleep but the uncomfortable feeling stayed with me.  I finally said “ OK, I will get up, but I don’t know what for.”   I didn't know what to do so I decided to check and make sure both doors were securely locked.  I checked and they were locked with deadbolts on.  As I was walking back to my bedroom at the end of the hallway, I glanced into the bathroom, and there on the carpet laid what appeared to me, my husband’s big red flashlight glowing in the dark.  I reached in the dark to turn it off and burned my hand.  As I jumped back, I turned on the light and realized it was our big red curling iron, turned on and lying there on the carpet.  The carpet was as hot as the curling iron.  I put a wet cold rag on it for fear it was ready to catch fire.  The palm of my hand burned the rest of the night, and I couldn't sleep, not because of the burn but because of the thought that our home very easily could have burned with our entire family in it. 

     I just lay there in great awe and gratitude that I was prompted to wake up and check on something.  I could just imagine at church the next day everyone saying “Did you hear the fire trucks last night, did you know the Lee’s home was burnt with their whole family in it?”

     The next morning I asked my 3 teenage girls, who left the curling iron on, no one confessed?  I presumed that it was knocked off the counter by one of the three granddaughters that were spending the night, when they got up to go to the bathroom. 
     We also checked our smoke alarms and neither worked for lack of a new batteries.

     I learned two good lessons that night.  I cannot afford to live without the companionship of the Holy Ghost.  Oh how glad I went to bed that night with a prayer blessing my family, an open heart and mind to be able to receive the spirit, instead of the "Late Night Show" or other worldly things to occupy my mind.  I also was reminded that I need to always follow the promptings when they come no matter how inconvenient it might be (like exhaustion).  

Birth Certificate Changed

My girls
Christine, Emily, Lyndee, and Liz

 
      We had just moved to North Ogden and two of our girls Emily and Lyndee  just graduated from High school.   They were now leaving Young Women’s and were to be introduced into Relief Society the following Sunday. 

    The Relief Society President asked me if I would tell the sisters something interesting about the two of them.  Here is how I made that introduction:
    These two girls are not twins yet they are 24 days apart.   They are the same size and have many similarities.  Lyndee is a twin, but not a twin of Emily's. Lyndee's birth was the easiest any mother could ever ask for. In fact, that day came and went and I didn't even know she was born.  Immediately, I got strange and curious looks from the sisters in the ward, so I decided to tell the rest of the story.  Lyndee was adopted at age 17.
     Here is how it all happened.  Emily came bouncing in the door from a week at girls camp, and the first thing she said was "Mom, we have to adopt this girl I met at girl’s camp."  What? Wait a minute, you don't adopt teenagers, they come with too many problems.  Emily kept talking about how much they were like sisters and insisted we meet her immediately.  She came over for a visit and she seemed nice enough but what can you tell in a visit, everyone can be on their best behavior for a few hours.
      Several weeks later we received a phone call from social services asking us if they could please place Lyndee in our care temporarily until they put her in a new home.  The home she was in was no longer working out.  We agreed as our home was always open to those in need.   Several weeks passed and the case worker said "we have decided not to place her in a family but rather to put her in a  group home, since she is almost of age.”  By this time Lyndee had proved herself to be a fine young woman, obedient and helpful, she kept telling Emily,” I want to be in a real family, not in a group home.”   
      My husband and I began to talk.  Should we be her foster parents for a while?  She really seemed happy in our home and she fit our family like a glove on a hand.  She had an immediate since of how our family worked and she blended in well.  She didn't get in your space, if you know what I mean? She knew when to speak and when to listen and never complained.  We called the case worker and asked if we could be her foster parents, he agreed and she moved in with us.
     Time continued to pass and she still proved herself a good member of our family.  A few weeks before Mother’s day, I kept getting the impression we should adopt this girl.  I discussed it with my husband and when we prayed about it we knew it was right, yet very scary.  All the "what ifs" kept popping up in my head and I let fear and doubt arise.
     Then it became very clear to me that it was the right thing to do, so we talked with each of our children and they all felt good about our decision and we decided to tell her on "Mothers Day".  It was a moment I will never forget." With tears in both of our eyes we told her we wanted to keep her and be a part of our forever family.  We had a promise from the Lord all would be OK, she won't be perfect, and yes you will have another daughter's wedding to pay for, but it was his will.
    We planned an adoption shower for her, inviting her friends and ours, and it was a lot of fun. All the young women and their leaders gave her a lot of support. 
     A date was set, we met at the court, and it was finalized, the court then took her original birth certificate and replaced her birth mom's name with mine.  So I can prove by a birth certificate that I gave birth to her, hence that is why it was the easiest birth ever.
We then took her to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. Isn't it interesting how the Lord can get the right people in the right family when we mess up here on earth.

Day of adoption
Lyndee in middle, Elizabeth and Emily on both sides
John and Brian to the right me next to Liz

Ogden Temple

graduation pictures

Aaron , John, Lyndee and Ronnie

Lyndee graduating from High School

Lyndee with all the girls at temple

Lyndee's family 2012  with 5 children

Remember

grandchildren
Megan, Tyler, Ryan

   

 It seems that I start many of my thoughts by saying “I remember”.

    The word “remember” is used a lot in the scriptures, in fact leaders of our church have often told us that the word remember is the most important word in the dictionary.

     I read this morning where Nephi was reading from the plates he obtained from Laban and was trying to persuade his brothers to remember all the blessings that the Lord had provided them.  He wanted them to remember why they are here on earth.  There was a reason and a purpose but they kept forgetting.

    I find that I too have to be reminded why I am here.  It is so easy to get caught up in the world of Babylon and in what everyone else is doing.  The media, meaning TV, radio, movies, books and magazines all tell us we are here to have fun, be thin, dress like a fashion model and our homes ready for inspection at all times from our peers.   Our kids are to be dressed in all name brand clothes, always clean and get perfect grades and win awards in everything they pursue.  Wow! I remember the pressure that put on me.  Somehow I got the idea it was 100% my responsibility for everyone and everything to be perfect.  I just needed more hours in the day because I just never could measure up to what the world was telling me I needed to be and do.

     Now that I am in my 60’s I see things a little more clearly and I could care less about the influence thrown at me.  I stay as far away from all media that makes me feel “not good enough”.  Instead I find great peace as I spend more time in the scriptures and at the temple, which reminds me why I am here and what I am suppose to be doing. I am here because of a marvelous plan put forth by Heavenly Parents.  I am here to be tried and tested to see if I will follow the plan or go along with the crowd.  My goal is to get myself back home, to my real home with my real parents.  I’m just visiting here on earth and learning all the rules so I can follow them, so my journey home won’t be so painful. And I am to have JOY in the journey.

    I have learned that my family is everything, getting and building a relationship with each member is what it is all about.

Grandchildren
Ryan, Javen, Jace, Megan Tyler baby Nathan

     The most important thing I have learned is how to trust the Savior completely, so he can trust me completely, and that is an ongoing process.

    Peace is what I am after, peace that only can come from the Lord and that is what I thrive on from day to day.

    I find that by reading the manual “How to have joy on earth” presented so well in the scriptures I don’t get those down days.  Then when I immerse myself in the extra credit manual “conference reports” and temple attendance a priority, I can keep focused and stay on the right path which is very narrow, but leads directly to my destination.

He who rules his spirit has won a greater

 victory than the taking of a city.

Addicted to the Temple

Ashlee, Aubrey, Mckaila & McKensey
at the temple
   

Addicted to the Temple

     There is something wonderfully addictive about going to the temple.  The older I get, the more I want to be there.  Why? I absolutely love the silence, everyone is quiet in the temple, and even though there may be 100 people near you, it is so silent that it is easy to hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.

     I love seeing everyone dressed in white clothing.  You would never know if the person sitting by you was rich or poor, they are all wearing simple styles in  beautiful white.  In Revelations 3-4 we are told to live for the day when we can "walk in white."  White is symbolic of virtue and virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards.  The power to create mortal life is a sacred and exalted power and must be safeguarded until you are married.  Virtue is a requirement to have the companionship and guidance of the Holy Ghost.  Being virtuous is a requirement to enter the temple.  And it is a requirement to be worthy to stand in the Savior's presence. 


    No one is in a hurry in the temple.  I never wear a watch to the temple because I like to forget about time altogether.  I love the instructional movie presented in the temple and marvel its profound teachings.  It helps keep me focused on why I am here on earth and my eternal purpose.   It takes my mind off the mundane things of life.
When I use my debit card more than my temple card, I can feel I am out of balance.

   Going to the temple makes everything perfectly clear.  It’s like going on a vacation and having a clear and precise map right in front of me, as to where to go, and what to see, and how to get to everything important accomplished, and not waste time on frivolous sights but seeing and finding joy and wonder in each moment of the journey.    We are all here for the same reasons, to learn, to experience, repent, make corrections and then be tested to see if we passed what we just learned.

    With the quiet atmosphere in the temple I can ponder and meditate; my spirit seems to be filled with exquisite joy and peace.  That same peace seems to accompany me home and bless my surroundings for many days. 

                       "Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil, 

 it has no point."

Birthday Miracle

Rebecca, Margie and Lane sitting
 in front of tombstone

The Lost Tombstone

Birthday Miracle

     When we were serving a mission in the South, my mother, sister Margie, brother Lane and his wife Nancy came to see us.  We knew they would be there on my mothers birthday so we drove to her birthplace in Columbus, Georgia to see her childhood stomping grounds.  After seeing her high school, her church, and the property she use to live on, we decided to go see the cemetery where her mother was buried.  It ws a huge cemetery with 22,000 thousand tombstones, by far the largest cemetery I have ever been in.  My mother could not remember where she was buried so we went to the sexton to get directions to her mothers grave, but he was gone for the day.  We were just about to give up looking and I said "No", we are not giving up.  It's mom's birthday and she deserves to see where her mother was buried (it had been 60 years ago).

     I told everyone I had a plan.  I took them to the center of the cemetery and said " let's give ourselves another 30 minutes to look for her tombstone.  We will start here in the center and all go in separate directions.  There were 7 of us, so we left the center and walked for thirty minutes.

     Thirty minutes was just about up when we heard a faint sound, I headed in that direction and there was my sister-in-law Nancy excited because she had found it.  She said she just happened to bend down and remove the long grass and weeds off a tombstone and it said "Argdon Ophelia. "

     This was a big miracle.  It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I later found out there are 22,000 headstones on 54 acres at that cemetery.  It was a big miracle. I knew it was a righteous desire and the Lord would help us. And He did!

Since it was Mom's birthday we tried everywhere to buy her a pecan pie which the south is famous for.  With no success, we went back to our apartment and I made one.  It was a great visit from a part of our family and will always remember "To look unto God in all things, doubt not fear not."

Lane enjoying Pecan Pie made with grits

Riverdale Cemetery,  Georgia

Mom's old High School in Georgia

Touring the old bus Depo
Margie Mom. Rebecca Lane and Nancy

Margie, Mom and Nancy

Love is....

Grandson John Lee & Me

     We just got back from a wonderful week in Illinois, with our son Jacob and his family.  It was our first time seeing their new baby Charlotte Daisy (now 5 months old). What a fun happy baby she is, and she looks just like her big sister Sophie.  Sophie is like a grown up young lady in a little body at age 7 who amazes me with something so grown up, for example one night as we were going to bed she said “Grandma, will you answer a question for me?”  I said yes, and she continued, “when I go to college can I have more than one roommate?”  I thought to myself “why is this little girl thinking about college roommates?”  I answered “why do you ask that question?” She said “Because I just can’t decide which one of my friends I will choose because I like them all.”  I explained that it all depended on the size of her dorm or apartment and that right now was too soon to worry about that (1^st grade).  Then she said “Alright then I guess I won’t decide until my birthday.”

     Then there is big John age 2.   Grandpa John Lee kept little John busy going back and forth about who is the real John Lee.  They were so much fun to be around and I always enjoy being with Jennifer as she is always informed on many subjects and enjoy hearing her point of view on a variety of things, she is fun to be with.  Jacob looks great and very buff on his new workout program and diet.  They are now buying everything they can organic and eating well.  Jacob enjoys helping in the kitchen which is great.  I am so glad to see my boys be helpful to their wives.  

     One day Sophie came home from school and had drawn a picture of what love is:  it’s when her and her baby sister smile at each other.  She had drawn a picture of her baby Sophie in a swing and a picture of them looking at each other with big smiles on their faces. I loved that, and thought how profound it is; a little baby smiling at her big sister, yes that is love.  I thought of how much time is wasted in the world searching after happiness, only to find out it was temporary.  And here a little 7 year old recognizes it immediately. We can all learn a lesson from her.

Charlotte Daisy Lee

    
      I had forgotten how busy life is when you have two little ones in diapers and all that is involved in keeping a family going.   Lot’s of memories were brought back as I saw the ins and outs of their busy daily life.  How did we ever do it with 7?, I guess I had forgotten a lot over the years.

John Lee holding John Lee

Our son Jacob, Jennifer, John, Charlotte Daisy and Sophie

    A year ago in January, the weather stayed in the single digits for months where they live.  We really lucked out because one day it almost hit 60.   I enjoyed taking walks each day with the children.  The best part of the visit was seeing the gospel in full action in their lives and the love in their home.  Fortunate are 3 little children to have been given such good parents full of love.

Spread love everywhere you go. 

Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.

Mother Teresa

Charlotte can't decide which way the
 tongue transfers food

I'm glad I Did

I Am Glad I Did…&  I Wish I Would Have….

A few on the Andersen grand kids with me on a hike

Looking back over my life of 60 + years, I see things I wish I would of done. But to be fair, and since I am an optimistic person, I have to include the things I am glad I did.

I’m glad I had a large family (7).  It was hard and challenging at times but I am glad I did.  I would not trade one of my children for anyone else in the world.  They are special, unique and so very individual and I love them so much.

 I am also glad I took them to church.  Sometimes that was the hardest day of the week.  Many times I wondered “What am I doing here”  trying to get them to sit still, and not bother the other families around us, while trying to catch a word or two of hope and encouragement for myself.  Something inside of me always said “ You may not be learning anything, but you are setting a good foundation and these children are learning something every time they are here, important things that will help them throughout their lives to be good, decent  people." So I kept going and struggling week after week.  Oh, I forgot to say that most of those years my husband was on the stand or on the high council so he was attending other wards, so I was always out numbered. 

I’m glad I was able to be a stay- at- home Mom most of the time.  Everything in our home ran smoother because of that.  Yes, we went without a lot of things, but not the important things.  We always had food to eat and shelter over our heads, we didn’t have name brand clothing, desserts, or yearly vacations (unless camping counts.) 

I’m glad we had as many  family home evenings as we did.  Not consistent, but we were persistent, not always on Monday but we did our best.  I don’t remember too many lessons that were given but I do remember feeling extra love at having everyone in the same room for a uplifting thought, song, game and family prayer.

I wish I would have……

I wish I would have given more service to others or families at least once a month, in secret if possible.  Service to others is so important, mostly to those rendering the service.  I wish I had the children looking all month long for the “perfect service project."  To be a more service oriented family would have been great for all of us, not just cookies to neighbors and friends on the Holidays, but those who really need it.

I wish we would have worked with the children when they were told to do chores rather than just telling them over and over to do it.  It’s fun working together, not alone, whether  it's dishes, or pulling weeds, or  cleaning their rooms.

I wish  every day would have been a family home evening.  Not a lesson out of a book but a principle, as to why we do what we do.   Teaching "why" solidifies beliefs.  Why should we pay tithing, not just because we are told to, but we would not have a building to meet in for church and activities.  Same with fast offerings, why? Because there are families, even little children in our area that have no food.  I wish we would have taken them to the church store house to see  people getting food off the shelves and how happy they were because it was free, all because a lot of kind people paid a little fast offerings.  

I wish we would have played more games together, indoors and especially outdoors.  Instead of always sending the kids outside to play, I wish we would have gone out there too and had fun, then they would have been much more willing to help us afterwards.  

I wish I knew how valuable vegetables were in our diet, I would have served   4 servings of vegetables at each meal.  They are the most reasonable food.  I wish we had a garden and we all worked in it together, not just mom and dad and we grew all the vegetables we ate.

I wish we taught more about the real meaning of Christmas from the start and left out all the commercialism.  It’s hard to change once the children are use to what the world dictates.

I am sure this list will grow as I grow, but for now I am glad I did the things I did do.

Abraham Lincoln
I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday