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.