A Love So Profound

In light of recent happenings, I have really felt a draw to the Gospel. I feel like Heavenly Father is slowly pushing me to learn and to grow. He is so patient with me because everyone in my immediate family knows that procrastination is a strength of mine. If there is a meme or gif about being a sloth, it's probably been sent my way by a loved one. Anywho...

I was reading my Book of Mormon today and I came across some passages in Mosiah that describe what Christ went through as he atoned for all of us. It talks about the pain and suffering he felt. What I found that touched my heart the most was that he did not complain about it. It made him happy to feel the worst someone will ever feel so that we can all live with Heavenly Father. I'm not sure happy is the correct word to describe what he was feeling. But! He performed the ultimate act of love for everyone. He did so willingly.

My son sat next to me on the couch and I thought back to when he was sick a few weeks ago. All I remember feeling is helpless. I wanted SO BADLY to take his pain and discomfort away from him. I would have willingly taken it upon myself. As I reflected on this, I realized a small fraction of the love the Savior has for all of us.

I am filled with the Spirit of God and I am thankful for the love of a Heavenly Brother.
God knows just the things I need to see glimpses of to keep me going. I hope and pray that these little nuggets of wisdom keep on coming. Slow and steady. Line upon line.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church on this earth. I know that I can live with my Heavenly Father again because of the atonement of Jesus Christ for all mankind.

I am very interested to know if you've recently been given any nuggets of truth in your life! Please share them with me. God is good.

Truly Inspired

This week, my family signed up to help clean our church building. I deliberately signed up on a week that our babysitters (Grandma & Grandpa) weren't cleaning so we could serve without distraction. I was encouraged by the woman in charge of coordinating efforts to bring my son along. She mentioned that it would be a good thing to teach him by example one way we can serve Heavenly Father.

I kind of laughed at the thought of bringing a very active, into-everything one year old with us to CLEAN. I mean, wouldn't he just create a bigger mess? I wasn't very hopeful, but I mentioned this to Nick. He said that it was a good idea.

This morning as we arrived at church, I found myself holding my breath. I didn't want him to empty the trash on the floor. I didn't want him eating the trash (just being honest). I didn't want him to climb up the stairs while we had our hands full and end up falling. I was only extremely a little bit nervous as I got him out of the car seat and walked him to the kitchen door.

I started washing some dishes and Nick took him along to start emptying trash cans. I could hear our son laughing and squealing with joy. My heart was happy and I felt a little bit more at ease. As I finished laying the dishes to dry, I could tell my husband could use some back up. Our adventurous boy kept running right for the stairs. I came around the corner to join them and was greeted by the sweetest little smile. I took him along with me as I went classroom to classroom checking the trash cans. He never stopped smiling. Every single time we came across a picture of Christ, he stopped, pointed, and smiled. He would talk to the picture for a moment before running to catch up to me.

We finished going room to room and ended back in the kitchen. I put the dishes away and began to clean the counters. At this point, Buddy was chatting in his little language following right behind me. I started playing some hymns from my phone and he squealed and danced, still right at my feet. He looked down and started picking up some things from the floor. He would tap my leg and hand me what he found, beaming with joy. Every time, I thanked him and he laughed. He was filled with such a joy and happiness that I could not help but beam myself. He was so happy to help.

In this moment, I knew that this friend who encouraged us to bring our son along was truly inspired by God. I know that our son doesn't grasp fully the concept of service. He is only one after all. But what I do know is that he understands and FEELS more than we know. He is still so close to Heaven. He feels the Spirit of God and it brings him joy. He reminded me today of how willing and happy we should be to serve our Heavenly parents.

I am looking forward to helping my son learn more ways to serve. I am looking forward to learning more lessons right alongside him.

Today, I am grateful for a friend who encouraged me to teach my son.
Today, I am grateful that I heeded the counsel of a friend.
Today, I am grateful for a son who has taught me in return.

babies

It has been almost one year since I found out that I was pregnant. This has been the craziest roller coaster of a year that I have ever had. Important moments:

- positive pregnancy test
- my first ultrasound confirming our answered prayer
- Nick passing his state exams for the highest level license he can get (all while having a nauseated, exhausted, pregnant wife) which lead to....
- Nick's promotion to General Manager at his company
- becoming an aunt again
- celebrating 6 years of marriage
- seeing miracle after miracle in our nephew's health
- seeing miracle after miracle in my pregnancy
- finding out we were going to have a son
- being blessed with two baby showers
- stepping away from an amazing job to finish off my pregnancy and prepare for baby
- GIVING BIRTH and becoming a mother
- seeing my husband bless our son with promises from God
- getting to introduce my child to his family (still a work in progress :) )

I have been exhausted for an entire year (literally) but I can say that this has been the best year. I have grown in many ways. I have also had the most difficult challenges. I know that I wouldn't be where I am without the blessings from Heaven.

I can't wait to see what this next year will bring.

again.

Here I am. Years later, I am still unsure of why this blog is difficult for me to maintain.
Life goes by quickly. This is a well known fact of most everyone I encounter. Then, why is it always a surprise that it is mid-April, the Fourth of July, Christmas, the New Year, etc?
Humans are funny creatures.
Not sure where to go with this post.
I'll organize some rambles into a list. Ready? Go:

1. Recently, I had a few opportunities to have honest, open heart-to-heart conversations with my immediate family. I don't know what prevented this from happening sooner. One of my goals to work on before my twenty-fifth birthday was to make an effort with my family. I've never been the best sharer with news. Only a few humans were privileged to receive my bantering. But I've realized that my doing so may have created some unwanted, unnecessary boundaries between my family. I'm working on it. This last week has been a win in that department.

2. Prayer is a marvelous thing.

3. I have been told that goldfish grow to the size of their surroundings. Put them in a small tank, they stay small. What happens if you put them in a pond or an ocean (provided the water supplied will sustain them)? How big would they grow with seemingly endless amount of space? These thoughts are the results of watching our friends' goldfish for the week.

4. Blessings are best when you list them. It's amazing to see how much good is in your life when you take time to think.

5. I am thankful.

Repeat ABC

 So, almost exactly three years ago, I did an ABC fact thing that I found from some random place on the internet. I thought it might be fun to do it again and see how different my answers are years later. Enjoy! You should fill it out and leave me a link in the comments so I can read your answers! xoxo



Age: 23
Bed size: California King! 
Chore you hate: Folding the laundry. The worst.
Dogs: Are awesome and puppies are the cutest things ever.
Essential start of your day: Family prayer.
Favorite color: Blue blue blue.
Gold or silver: It varies. Mostly silver.
Height: 5'6" but I measured myself against a restaurant door frame and that said 5'7" soooo.....
Instruments I play (or have played): Violin, any percussion keyboard. Working on piano. And does vocal chords count?
Job title: Retail merchandiser, District Leader. I have two.
Kids: Not yet.
Live: in California. I want to move.
Mom's name: Cathy.
Nickname: Kels. Kelsinator. Kelfie. Kelsar.
Overnight hospital stays: none of my own.
Pet peeve: When people do something they know they shouldn't.
Quote from a movie: "Okay."
Right or left handed: Right.
Siblings: 2 bros. 4 step sistahs.
Time you wake up: It varies. Anywhere from 6-9 am.
Underwear: Yes.
Vegetables you dislike: Nothing comes to mind.
What makes you run late: Bad time management. Let's be honest here.
X-rays you've had done: Dental x-rays.
Yummy food you make: Muffins. And desserts.
Zoo animal: Big cats!