What Time is it?!

The Apostle Peter said that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years”

you see..I'm having this dilema with the subject of "time" lately. Time seems to be going by sooooo fast, too fast and I seriously can't keep up. One day flows into the next, my mind is back in March somewhere and yet I realize it's August tomorrow (what?!) Grandbabies born...I swear a few months ago..are approaching a year old in a matter of weeks. How can this be? Does time speed up when you hit that...um..half century mark? Peter, what is your take on that? I want it all to slow down and let me catch up...but herein lies the dilema I have with that. ...a day does not go by that I don't imagine in my mind the reunion in heaven with Natalie. I picture her there..beautiful, busy, teaching, tending, smiling, watching over us... Some days it seems like it will be f-0-r-e-v-e-r until that day comes and I wish time would speed up and hurry..none of this thousand year stuff..thank you very much.

So for now, I'll take some advice from Winnie The Pooh on the subject of time;

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

~ winnie the pooh

Smile Part Two!

Smiling is infectious, You catch it like the flu, When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too. I passed around the corner, and someone saw my grin, When he smiled I realized, I'd passed it on to him . I thought about that smile, Then I realized its worth, A single smile just like mine, Could travel round the earth. So if you feel a smile begin, Don't leave it undetected - Let's start an epidemic quick And get the world infected!

Ahhh...a Smile to melt your heart...

There are smiles that make us happy,
There are smiles that make us blue...
There are smiles that steal away the teardrops as the sunbeams steal away the dew.
There are smiles that have a tender meaning that eyes of love alone may see...
but the smiles that fill my life with sunshine are the smiles that YOU give me !!

How we love this boy...and his smile that reaches to heaven and back...

Oooey Gooey Perfection in a pan.... a little bit of Magic!

Natalie was a cook...no she was a baker...hmmmm...she was just outright
incredible in the kitchen.
I miss her creations, her experiments in the kitchen...her Treats...

I realize that I could go in the kitchen right now and whip up a batch of the ever classic "Magic Cookie Bars"... and to tell you the truth, I can't remember the last time I or anyone else made them....because these were Natalies "treat" of choice....and nothing tasted better than a batch of these warm out of the oven when she made them....ahhhhh magic.

I miss them...how I miss her

I think it's time to make some magic....some ooey gooey perfection in a pan...and while we devour them warm from the oven...they way we did when Natalie made them....

we will feel a little bit of heaven...

Magic Cookie Bars ~
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.
Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

Let the magic begin!

just making some renovations . . .

M....is for Mother

Children and Mothers never truly part....

Bound in the beating of each others heart

A Mothers Prayer....

I pray that you reach for the stars and the moon,

I pray for a childhood that doesn't end too soon.

I pray for dreams that you can touch,

and for you to know that no dream is too much.

I pray for happiness beyond measure,

Because you my sweet son, are my treasure.

I pray that you find a long lasting love,

and know that angels watch over you from above.

I pray that you find peace in your heart and know that when I'm not with you,

I'm always a part of you.

I pray that you touch the moon and the stars,

and for you to know just how special you are.

But most of all, I pray that you find joy,

whether in simple pleasures or a new toy.

For you were born and conceived in love....

A gift from God in Heaven above.

All my Love Mommy

~author unknown

Are you listening?

I love this book...I've had it for years. I use it every time I've taught a lesson on the Holy Ghost and listening to the still small voice. It teaches about listening to the sweet soft voice of the Spirit. It's a beautiful book, with beautiful pictures....

The gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the most precious gifts I have been given. With Natalies death my experience with the Holy Ghost has been beyond profound. As the Comforter, He is my constant companion, with a constant reassurance that all is well. I've learned that in order feel His companionship or listen to His promptings....I need to be "quiet"...It's hard for me to explain, but I personally have learned that the Spirit cannot and will not dwell when the radio is blaring, or the TV is spewing worldly junk. ...I drive in a silent car...it is my haven...I do my best praying, thinking, and listening in the car...which brings me to an experience I had the other day...in my car.

I've contemplated relating this experience with the "still small voice"...because it wasn't so small or soft....it was strong and loud....it had to be so that I would listen... I'm not proud of the fact that I didn't listen the first time....and here is the lesson that once again I have learned...and I wonder if Heavenly Father ever gets tired of having to repeat himself?.......

I was leaving work, just a few steps from getting into my car, when from the direction of a rocky area with trees to the side of the parking lot I heard a voice call out simply and roughly "Hey you"..... I glanced in the direction of the voice and at first glance it looked like a straggly haired, grungy, perhaps drunk woman sitting in some rocks under a tree. Eww..was my first thought and I climbed into my car thinking that it was some drunk homeless person who wanted some money or something like that. As soon as I backed up, the thought came to me..."even if it is a drunk homeless person, that was rude of me to not go see if she was OK".... my rude self kept driving...wanting to go home...out of the parking lot...

Up the street I'm driving... the thought enters my mind "would if it wasn't a homeless drunk person?...and they needed help"... I'm still driving my rude self up the street...

Then the voice..."you need to go back"

I'm still driving...the guilt is consuming me... how could I ignore someone calling out like that?

The voice....stronger this time "YOU need to go back "

OK, I'm listening now....I don't want to go back, I'm telling myself, it was a grungy drunk homeless person and what am I going to do with this person? .... still the voice "GO BACK, you NEED to go back" OK--OK.....I'm listening....

I'm now at the top of the street...I have two options, I can turn left to go home....or I can turn right and flip around and GO BACK....again the voice.... "you NEED to go back"..

I feel Natalie close... seriously Mom...are you listening?

I turned right, flipped around and headed back towards work.....maybe she'll be gone..I'm telling myself...already feeling bad for having not listened when she first called out.

Back in the parking lot....back in my same parking spot where I park every day. I get out...I take a breath....not knowing what I'm about to encounter...I peek in the direction of the tree...which is still hidden from my view... I take a few more steps..

"Hello?" I say...kind of hoping for no response....but instead I hear....

"I've been waiting for you"......waiting for me...waiting for me to listen. ...why didn't I listen the first time?

I walk over and under the tree in the rocks is an little old feeble woman...hair dischevled, struggling, fallen, can't get up, lost, doesn't know where she is, or where she lives....calling out for someone to help her...and waiting...waiting for someone to listen. ....waiting for me....why didn't I listen the first time?

I help her up, she can hardly stand....she doesn't know how long she has been in the rocks...she is disoriented, she keeps telling me she had been waiting for me.....

I know immediately that she must be from the assisted living home located up the street that I pass to and from work each day. I take her there....sure enough a Orderly is outside walking around....appears that he is trying to find something....someone.... I pull up...I tell him, I think I found who he is looking for...I did...she's at home just in time for dinner he tells her....she's hungry and tired.....and home.

I drive away... very much like a child, ashamed that the Spirit had to talk beyond a whisper for me to hear.. yet thankful that I listened and could help someone find their way back home for dinner.

I think perhaps I need to read my book again......and listen.