Kaydence's 8th Birthday & Baptism

My sweetheart turned 8 on November 10, 2017! I can't believe it. For breakfast we found an awesome restaurant that is 100% gluten free!!! She was so excited that she could order anything from the menu! 

After breakfast we took her to the mall to get her ears pierced. I always told her it was up to her when she wanted to pierce her ears. This year she decided it was time and she was going to be brave. Luckily I had some numbing cream from my port that I would use before chemo and it worked like a charm. She cried and cried right before and then they did both ears at the same time and she stopped crying and I told her it was over and she gave me the biggest smile with tears still rolling down her cheeks! I am so proud she was able to do it. She was so proud too.

One of my Laurels, Midory, loves baking, so she made Kaydence a gluten free cheesecake for her birthday. 

Then that night we had all her friends over for her birthday party. They all had so much fun.

Then her friend Jovi, spent the night with us that night. I'm so grateful Kaydence has such good friends.

The next day was Kaydence's very special day. She decided to be baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her and her best friend, Jaclyn, were able to get baptized on the same day. Kaydence has such a strong testimony of the Holy Ghost and of Jesus Christ. She loves her Savior so much and she teaches me so much about love, patience, humility, and being a Mother.

Young Womens Randoms

I have been serving in Young Women's this year with the Laurels and we really enjoy it. Kaydence gets to come to all the activities with us and she is totally a part of the group. I love these girls so much.

To Be a True Follower of Christ // Deliteful Thoughts

As I sit here at home on a fast Sunday with a sick daughter, I can't stop thinking about these words: To be a true follower of Christ. What exactly does that mean? I have asked myself this question over and over. For many years while I was trying to make right decisions as a teenager, I always thought I was being a true follower of Christ because of all the things I was NOT DOING:

I could go on for hours about the "do not's". While I thought about all of the things I came up with that, I noticed that they were all "do not's".  Was I really a true follower of Christ?? I lived like this for years thinking I was doing my best and was really a true follower of Christ. Then one day I was laying on my bed on Sunday just lounging around, not doing much ("keeping the sabbath day holy") and thought about all of the "do not's" again. Was I really a true follower of Christ by not doing all of these things? Or was I just getting by? I then thought of many of my non-LDS friends and realized they were more charitable and Christlike than I was because they were doing so much more than I. I had totally overlooked what a true follower of Christ is. It's not about all of the "do not's", but the "Do's". I tried to make a list of what "do's" that I needed to start focusing on instead of the "do not's". 

DO's:

 - Serve others in all aspects (money, time, prayers, thoughts, kindness, friendship, non-judgement, understanding, forgiveness, patience, love, etc.)
 - Always put others first
 - Less judgement, more love and charity, no matter who it is
 - Keep Sabbath day holy. Fill it with uplifting music, movies, magazines, etc.
 - Ask for forgiveness regularly
 - Pray always for my needs/desires and other's needs/desires
 - Be Honest in all my dealings
 - Spiritually feed my body continually (Listen/watch inspiring and uplifting music/media, scriptures)
 - Treat my body as a temple (eat healthy, exercise, do not defile it)
 - Attend temple as often as possible
 - Count my blessings often and thank Heavenly Father for them
 - Always have Faith in Christ, even when there aren't answers
 - Be an example of Christ at ALL TIMES
 - Be humble, especially when it's super hard
 - Be the first to apologize
 - Mend broken/weakened relationships
 - Constantly nourish relationships
 - Forgive without holding back
 - Make quality time with family/friends actually face to face (less social media/gadgets)

This list made me realize that if I do the "do's", really all of the "do not's" will fall into place. I have added and changed my list over the past couple years and this is just a snippet of what I want to become, but I have also talked with my family about this and we've found that it helps to make yearly goals as a family. We have a long ways to go, but as one of my favorite people said, "Try a little harder to be a little better" - Gordon B. Hinckley.  I absolutely love this quote because it is not overwhelming. It really gives you hope and helps you understand that change doesn't come overnight. It's a little change here and a little change there. No matter our age or our spirituality level, we can ALWAYS do a little better. 

My parents are a great example of many of these things and I am so grateful for them planting the seed in me as a young child. It may have taken years to sprout, but better late than never. I remember a quote that was up in my house when I was younger and now I have a better understanding of what it really means.

Churchy Stuff

Kaydence is in sunbeams and she loves it. She comes home every week so proud of her pictures that she colors. I can't believe how fast she is growing!  I am serving in the Young Womens. I've been there for about 2 years. I love my laurels. They are such good girls and I am proud to be their leader. Being in young womens is very time consuming, but I have really learned a lot from serving in this position. I actually feel like I fit better in young womens than relief society. Tanner is a ward missionary.

Another churchy update coming soon! I cannot make the announcement  yet, but it's exciting news!