God's Hand in my life

The hand of God has been very apparent in my life the last few days. We had the opportunity to have two of the girls' friends stay with us for a night. They are sisters and their parents were in Boise. Since our girls are involved in many of the same activities, they stayed with us and we helped get them to their practices and other things. I am so thankful for these girls in Mataia and Morgan's lives. They are such good examples and so mannerly. They are just the kind of friends I had hoped the girls would find when we moved them to Madison schools. It is obvious that they have testimonies of the gospel and that they want to do what is right. I'm so thankful for that. Beth, the oldest one said she felt like she has known us forever, even though we've only known them for a few months. They just came and made themselves at home and were comfortable here. They fit right in! Hopefully we can do it again someday!

On Saturday, Jeff and I had the opportunity to attend a sealing at the temple for our good friends, Mark and Jenny. They welcomed a little girl into their home just before Christmas. They finalized their adoption about a month ago and had their beautiful baby girl sealed to them for time and all eternity in the Rexburg temple on Saturday. They have been such examples of faith to us over the past year. Mark was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago. They went through all of that treatment at the same time they were trying to adopt. They have kept a positive attitude and have been so blessed! I'm so happy for them. Their daughter, Paige is truly straight from Heaven! I'm thankful to have been a part of that special day with them! I love the the temple!

Yesterday I taught the lesson in Relief Society on how exercising faith builds character. It was from a talk that Elder Richard G. Scott gave in General Conference in October. As I studied, the thing that stood out to me is that if we will exercise faith and have courage, then we can be more than we think we are. We are capable of doing many things. Sometimes what lies ahead of us is scary and intimidating. If we will have the courage to step into the dark, the Lord will light the way for us. Last week, our High Councilman said something that has stuck with me. He said, "There is no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone." I really liked that and believe it is true. If you want to read all of Elder Scott's talk, you can find it here. (I hold a special spot in my heart for Elder Scott, because he came to our stake when my Dad was called into the Stake Presidency. We were able to meet him, shake his hand, and visit with him. He talked specifically to my kids and gave them some words of encouragement. It is an experience that I hope my kids will always remember.)

http://lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2010/10?lang=eng If you follow this link, it will take you to a page where you can listen, watch or read this and other talks from October's General conference. Elder Scott gave this talk in the Saturday Afternoon session.

On the note of General Conference. This coming weekend is General Conference again. I love this weekend! We get to hear from our church leaders in the comfort of our living room! They always give talks that I swear were given just for me. I look forward to learning what Heavenly Father wants us to hear!

Jeff is such a good dad. My kids love him so much and he always tries to do fun things with them. He is their biggest fan - no matter what they are doing, whether it's sports, music or just showing off. Last night he had both the boys just giggling before bed time as he carried them upstairs - "double piggy back style." My favorite thing is hearing my kids laughing and getting along with each other. This morning I saw Chad and Mataia give each other a big hug in the kitchen. That is priceless to me! Life is Good! (A little crazy, but definitely good!)