Luckily It's Sunday

It took EVERYTHING to drag myself out of bed this morning. That VERY RARELY happens. That's when I realized this was going to be one of those hard days. A turning point maybe? Not a major one, but I knew I needed something today. Luckily it's Sunday.

I wasn't disappointed. The talks in Sacrament Meeting were really good. One especially touched me. The sister that spoke talked about wedges or things in our lives that keep us from doing certain things. I think I may have a few wedges in my life which may have made today especially difficult. Not necessarily sins, just things that I haven't taken control of, but have let control me.

Then in Relief Society the lesson was on THIS TALK. I love President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talks. Walking away from church today I just came to the realization that I need to have faith and love and listen to my Heavenly Father better than I am. If I am doing these things, He will be there guiding my every step and bringing happiness to my life. I know that is what true happiness is--faith and trust in Him.

Already I feel peace. Luckily it's Sunday.

SOME QUOTES FROM TODAY THAT I LOVE:

No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

For what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do.

What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become.

As you reach out to your Heavenly Father, as you pray to Him in the name of Christ, He will answer you. He speaks to us everywhere.

As you read God’s word recorded in the scriptures, listen for His voice.

During this general conference and later as you study the words spoken here, listen for His voice.

As you visit the temple and attend Church meetings, listen for His voice.

Listen for the voice of the Father in the bounties and beauties of nature, in the gentle whisperings of the Spirit.

In your daily interactions with others, in the words of a hymn, in the laughter of a child, listen for His voice.

If you listen for the voice of the Father, He will lead you on a course that will allow you to experience the pure love of Christ.

Home

Why is it always so hard to come home from a vacation? Time for real life. The second we landed in Salt Lake I was ready to go back to Florida...especially when I heard the temperature was 34 degrees.

We flew in at 9:00 am Utah time. That means we got up at 2:00 am Utah time to get to the airport. Crazy! I am so tired, but I can't take a nap. I keep thinking of all the things I need to do and all I have to take care of at school...

Thanks to the Blakes! It was so much fun and I have so many wonderful memories. I would go on vacation with you guys again in a heart beat.

Florida Vacation-Day 7

View of the pool and golf course right outside our hotel window

Spent the day sleeping in and lounging by the pool. The pool was something else! A lazy river and several small pools all connected. It was a little windy and a little cold outside the pool, but I am not complaining. I even got sunburned.

The day ended with a delicious seafood meal!

Florida Vacation-Day 6

On Sunday we got up and prepared for church. We attended the YSA branch. I know I should probably attend one of those wards (although maybe I am too old for YSA...tell me I am), but now I remember why I so disliked those wards. It was so quiet you could hear a pin dorp, but Jackson, Ellie and Jane were so good throughout the meeting.

After that we checked into the hotel where we would be staying for the remainder of our time in Florida. Fancy! Chocolates on the pillows before bed were included. Now that is the life! We ate at the Wilderness Lodge, napped and walked for the remainder of our day.

I love Sundays, especially when I know I don't have to wake up and go to work the next day!

Florida Vacation-Day 5

Before "A Bug's Life." We are pretty good bugs.

Ahhh, us with Minnie

On the fifth day of vacation, we went to the Animal Kingdom. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turns out there are many, many animals in the Animal Kingdom. Really though, there were a few rides, but the shows were great. We saw The Lion King show which was a group of people dressed up dancing. They sang the songs from the Lion King, and we got to sing along. We also saw the Finding Nemo show. It was people and puppets reenacting Finding Nemo. It was actually really cool how they put it all together.

We also go to go on a Safari twice. There were elephants, hippos, giraffes and more. In addition to the Safari ride, we also spent some time in Dino Land. We rode a few rides there.

Animal Kingdom was the conclusion of our fun in the parks. There was so much to see and so much to do. I still think my favorite is the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, although all the parks were tons of fun...made even better by the excitement of the kids.

Florida Vacation-Day 4

The tail end of a dolphin with our heads

Ellie and Kim all wrapped up. Those ponchos served us well!

Sea World in the pouring rain...maybe I have said enough already.

No, it really was a good choice for pouring rain. My favorite activity of the day was the dolphin show. I don't remember what it was called, but it was so fun to watch the dolphins. Amazing animals!

We came home and warmed ourselves up. Jackson and Ellie had fun singing and dancing and performing for us the rest of the night.

Florida Vacation-Day 3

Documentation of the pouring rain!

Elli and I building with the Lego

Loungin' on a rainy day

Luckily we had decided to take a break from the fun on Thursday. I woke up on Thursday morning to rain pouring outside. What happened to the sunshine? I guess when they say it is going to rain in Florida, they mean it. So unlike Utah. So instead of enjoying parks, we enjoyed each other's company. We slept in and then headed to Downtown Disney. We got to play at the Lego store and it make me think of Kevin...miss him. I also found a few treasures for the kids at school. We will see what they think about some delicious Disney World taffy when I return.

After our excursion to Downtown Disney, we came home and played hide-and-seek in the dark, ate some food, and watched American Idol. It was a nice break day.

Florida Vacation-Day 2

All of us in front of the magical castle...truly magical!

Jane and I hangin' out at the Jungle Cruise

To clear up some confusion, no, Eric did not travel with us. He happened to be at the SLC airport at the same time we were. He was headed west and we (obviously) were headed east.

On Wednesday, the weather was beautiful, so we got up early and headed to Disney World. We rode some rides, saw some shows, ate some chicken, got some sun, enjoyed Dole Whip (YUM!) and overall had a terrific day. Disney never disappoints. We all really liked Buzz Light Year, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and my personal favorite, Space Mountain.

**Pictures to come later.

Florida Vacation-Day 1

Being silly before we took off to Florida.

The Blakes and I headed to Florida yesterday. Brock and Jackson were on a different flight than Kim, me and the girls. It was a long day, but we made it. Highlights of our traveling day:

Visit with cousin Eric made time go by much faster.
We are SO much stronger after carrying a 2 year old, 6 month old and 6 bags. (Yeah, you do the math. Did we have enough hands?)
1 kind gentleman who graciously helped us when we really didn't have enough hands. Wait, isn't that what a stewardess is for?
Plastic cups and paper as entertainment when there was nothing else to play with that made noise.
Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty and a lap top also saved the day.
2 very good little girls.

Today we spent our time at Disney World. More to come on that later...

Nothing Much

I haven't posted in forever. Mostly I haven't posted because I don't have access to the internet at home. SO inconvenient. Maybe someday I will care enough to do something about it. I also haven't had much time to anything other than school.

But, here is what's new in Tera's life:

I am working my tail off at school to get ahead because FLORIDA, HERE WE COME! Kim and Brock invited me to go to Florida with them. They had to twist my arm (okay, not really) to get me to go with them. Just praying for warm weather next week!

Because of said vacation to Florida, I have been trying to get ahead. I spend most of my life at my school. I even took on the responsibility of teaching the 4th graders during the after school program. Such fun!

So ready for spring. I keep wondering if the warm weather this week is just a trick. Oh, wait! This is Utah. Of course it's a trick!

Keeping up on my goals to eat fruits/veggies everyday, exercise as often as possible, and drink more water. It's amazing how much better I feel when I am taking care of myself.

Lots of fun in 6th grade. If they aren't the most social group of kids ever...but I think they are awesome!

Keegan is doing fabulous. I am a little worried about the recent earthquake in Chile, but I know the Lord will protect my little bro! He has grown so much in only 3 weeks.

Feeling the need for a change, but I am not so sure what that change should be. Rearrange the furniture, take a different route to work (wait, that was already forced on me), change my hair color, change my wake-up time. I just don't know!

Well, until next time!