Followers

Sunday, January 23, 2011

What Sundays are for

I woke up at 6 this morning, took Kale for a walk (no surprise), read scriptures and got ready for church. I knew that today would be a fabulous day since last week our ward was notified that we'd be receiving and sustaining a new bishopric. Wow, awesome I thought, I'm in a ward that is just awesome and I'll miss the bishop and his kindness. Bishop Curtis Farnsworth as been a bishop in 2 different wards over an 11 year period and served for 8 years. Holla, wow, what a long time. He was fabulous.

Sundays are to be rejuvenated, uplifted and edified. I'm so grateful for Sundays and I love them.

The only thing that I can say is, I walked through the doors today, sat down and looked straight at the back of the head of the new bishop (which I didn't know yet) and thought to myself, I wonder if its him, it looks like his parents are here and the spirit is very strong. Sure enough, the stake president stands and calls Bishop Matt Porter. I knew it. As soon as I glanced over at him, he had angels that were surrounding him and he just looked the part with the keys of the father of the ward with angels carrying him. It was so heavenly and sacred. I couldn't believe what I personally was seeing. As I watched him walk up to the front with his counselors, holy cow, it was fabulous. I know that the three were called of God. I know that we have leaders, teachers and callings filled because that is where Heavenly Father wants them for a specific purpose. Bishop Porter, your family will be blessed. You will not fail and with your faith and the faith of Marie, your family will progress and wow, what a awesome experience.

The spirit was AWESOME in primary. Each month this year they will have a scripture hero dress up and deliver a message about their story and what they did. Today it was Joseph Smith. It was awesome and the Holy Ghost testified to each of those sweet kids, the teachers and all that were there that the Scriptures are the Word of God and that by them we can have peace and freedom IF we live and abide by them.

I was invited to go WICKED on Saturday and let me tell you, it rocked. Craig was so nice about it. He invited me, he picked me up, he paid for lunch which we packed up and brought back and had for dinner too. He met my dog and we just laughed and talked a lot. I also had the spirit touch me to tell me to please, please pray WITH his 4 children. He will be a better father because of it and that his kids won't be so rambunctious if he did and he wouldn't stress out so much because of his ex wife. He will also be blessed with his job so that he can continue to help his kids and survive in this life. I was also prompted to tell him to just keep moving forward and to not look back at what has happened because Heavenly Father has great things in store for him. It was awesome for to follow the spirit and be guided to tell him those things. It was like Heavenly Father was speaking to me too and Craig just happened to be there.

My class for MAED/AET, AET505, Foundations of Adult Education is ending and today my last assignment is due. I'm actually waiting for 8 PM to roll around so that I can turn it on.

This last week, I was told at work too that I'll be receiving another raise of 6.1%. The entire university is doing a market evaluation and moving current employees to match the market. I cannot say how excited that I am that Heavenly Father has allowed me to be where I am, have the job that I do, return to school again and have the ability to pay off my car by Jan 2012. I cannot believe it yet I see his hands taking me through this life. I know that I am no longer married so that he can use me in a different way. I know that I married Nathan to bless his life as he needed to be blessed and likewise myself.

I've been reading the word, "healing, to heal, heal, healed" a lot in the Book of Mormon lately and it is fabulous how it is used to heal through the Resurrection and healing through the Atonement. 2 Nefi refers to both of them if someone wants to know. It is fabulous that we are able to be healed every Sunday as we partake of the sacrament and every time we attend the temple. It is awesome.

I learned this past week too that charity and visiting teaching and love go, oh so hand in hand. I am grateful for a visiting teaching companion who taught me that this last week that when we ask someone if they need anything to not be fake about it and to love them. Monica Pack, thank you and I'm grateful for the humble reminder.

I need to get this last team assignment in so I'm closing for now. I have a busy week with FHE at the park and a bonfire on Monday, Kale has a hair cut, I'm going to go to the family history center on Tues and there is a Stake RS Activity on Sat. Yahoo and Veronica Lindenmuth is getting married Saturday so I'll be going to that too. Good thing I don't have class ;o)

Karen

Monday, January 17, 2011

Apologies to my readers

I found out this week that I actually have a reader to my blog so I had to apologize to them and tell them that I'd do better at writing and keeping my journal current. I've been actually kind of busy the last couple of weeks since I last blogged that I wasn't feeling well. I'm on my last antibiotic and hopefully I won't have to take any more for a LONG time.

I've been busy at work as they have made some HUGE changes. They have created my division in to its own college (school) and that is awesome. I am now a part of the College of Continuing Education. I still specifically work with educators across the country and even more specifically I work with those that live in the Mid West, IL, MI, the Dakotas, UT and everything in between. I am still an Executive Enrollment Adviser and I love my job. I was given a raise in September and I'm up for one again in March. I can't wait.

My owe my hard work to my dad. He is a workaholic and I inherited that trait. I also owe my education, my talents and abilities to my Heavenly Father for knowing me, for caring about me and for knowing what I was going to go through in this life. I owe him my ALL. I'm grateful to actually have a job as the job market still crumbles. I'm grateful that my employer has faith in me enough to do a great job at what I do that they not only let me keep working, but they give me a raise too.

I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows what I want to do and knows that I need all the time in the world to do it too. For example, to have a calling in the ward, he allows me to work in Primary. I don't have any children and like an article in the January 2011 ensign and the sister the article is about, even though I don't have children, it doesn't mean that my callings at church won't go unnoticed or the kids in primary don't see or know that I exist. I play along with sharing time with them so they know that I am real too and that even those stuck behind the piano are real and that we read our scriptures and that I like to play games too.

I am emerged in Family History. I am trying to link the Wicke family to Hawaii. I have found over 30 names and am trying to make sure that they are related and that their work is done. Ironic enough, some of the work has been done and I have reserved a lot of it too. I just need the Wicke family to help me do it. I have linked some family members to the original 27 year old boy with Leprosy in Hawaii together and just need to do a pedigree chart and then mark it online to the newfamilysearch.org.  It is exciting and it is a blessing for them and for this HUGE Wicke family to be able to do their baptisms, confirmations, their initiatory work, the endowment and then their sealing. The sealing is the highest, noble goal I have for this family. It is exciting and thriving.

I am currently in my first class for the MAED/AET program which is a foundations class for adult learning. I'm excited. I'll be finishing it this next week and the final assignment is a group PowerPoint assignment. I'm excited. I have enjoyed the class. I'm very grateful that Heavenly Father has allowed me to go back to school again so that I can learn and say, oh, that is what that is, I get it. I've heard of it but didn't know. Each class is 6 weeks in length and I'll take a 3 week break between each class so that I can gather my life together and go do things that would be fun to do and not have to worry about homework or due dates.

I have a few things planned for the rest of January and for February as class won't begin again until 02/15. I am going to Tucson with a friend to go see Wicked. He invited me and heck, why not, he is really cool and I have the time.  My stake is having a beautiful Relief Society Day on the 29th and I can't wait. I want to go and learn and hang out with other sisters of the stake. That same day a friend of mine is getting married and the reception is that evening here in Chandler so I'll go to that and enjoy and celebrate that time with her.

I want to go to Kanab, UT and visit my grandparents grave and visit the area. I really like that area and if I ever retired as did my grandparents, I'd live there. It is small and quaint and the people are sweet. It is only a 6 hr drive so if I leave straight from work on Friday I can spend Friday and Saturday night there and hang out there all day Saturday and drive back Sunday morning after sacrament meeting. I just figured, why not, it is so close and I just thought oh yeah, my aunt Cari is there and uncle Ed too so I can visit their graves as well. If anyone has nothing else better to do, they can join me. Lake Powell is just 90 miles southeast of Kanab and Cedar City is only 90 miles northwest of Kanab.

My sweet Kale went to the Vet for a dental check up and cleaning and they said that they haven't seen such good teeth on a dog in a long time. Boy was I a proud mom. He whined while we were in the room before they took him to the back which is a sign that he'd miss his mom.

Does anyone listen to the Mormon channel? I do every day and I am so grateful for that too because I listen to the sweetest stories and lives and talks that really help me and that really remind me that I am not in this world alone and that I am here to learn, to apply the gospel and use the Atonement in my life. I learned this week that even though we have trials in this life, we are not alone and that God is by our side at all times.

I'm so grateful for awesome friends and family who care and who listen. I am not one to cry and show my emotions and when I do, I'm so grateful to have them be there to lean on. Thank you Facebook and other social networks, thank you for allowing us to vent and to be taught by those who God places in our lives at any given time and day. I'm grateful for Sundays and for the time that I have to partake of the sacrament to renew the covenants that I made at Baptism and start my life over again. I'm grateful for that extra week to do so.

Ever had anyone like, love you and you can't do anything about it because you are not close to them physically but wish you were so that you could cuddle, love and enjoy one another company? I wish I had that opportunity to do that. I was married to someone who didn't like to do that nor did he love me so it would have been weird anyways. I pray right now that there is someone who is healthy enough to care for there mental state and who loves them self enough and to also love others without feeling guilty. I do hope that it makes sense and if it doesn't it does to me.

Well, I need to do some quick shopping so I need to go and I'm working in fixing a resume for a friend. I hope this friend appreciates it, it needs a lot of work and it is frustrating me to fix it. It has taken me a week just to look it over because there is so much information that I need to condense it all.

Love,

Karen & Kale

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

I'm still sick

and I'm finally going to the Dr about it today. I went to the Foot Dr yesterday and he finally said the 1 word that I was dreading...surgery. I have another appt in February and at that time we'll see if that is something that we need to seriously do. If it is, it'll suck and if its not, well, YAHOO.

I've been coughing Flem and other gross stuff coming from my sinus' and my head on the right side is throbbing. Every time I cough I want to roll on the floor because it hurts my head to do it. My throat hurts when I wake up and if I don't take any medicine right away it'll be terrible for the rest of the day. I can hardly open my eyes it hurts so bad. I've downed about 3 bottles of medicine and I just can't do it anymore. I was hoping it would just go away on its own and it hasn't, obviously. I was really sick during Thanksgiving and then it came back during Christmas and New Years so I'm going to get rid of it for sure.

I was called by the car rental place on Monday telling me that I had to pay for the rental that sat in the garage while I was in St George for Christmas and I told them that they had to duke it out with the insurance company and with Arizona Collision Specialist and that I wasn't paying for anything because my car wasn't finished when they said that it would be. So, just now I got a call from Arizona Collision Specialist and they are going to suck up the $124.80 bill that Enterprise wanted to charge me. You know it...that whole ordeal wasn't my fault. I TOLD them that I had to bring the car back or I'd be out of town and return the rental when I got back. Well, that is what happened. I had to make a last split second decision on where I was going to go for Christmas too because I was to originally drive home to PDX but made changes to go to St George.

I know to some this sounds terrible but I am soooooo grateful that I did. I learned so much about myself and about who people are and their sweetness and kindness. I love Traci Astle and her family and for their support and love. They were great to hang with and I'm grateful to have gotten to know them.

I'm going back to work now and I'm glad to be here even though I feel terrible. Kale is so sweet too. He can tell that I'm not feeling well but he still wants to go on long walks and still wants to go hang out at the dog park so I take him because I'm a good mommy.

My MAED/AET class is back in full swing and I'm working on that now. I hope that this class finishes sooner than later. I need a break from it already.

I have made plans to attend General Conference in April, the Manti Pageant in Manti and General Conference again in October. I'm soooo excited. I'll try to make it with friends Amiee and Max Finster to the pageant. Tiffany Harrison is over in that area too along with cousin, Danny Parker so I hope that we can all get together and go and have a fabulous time.

I'm back at work and busy and I hope it stays this way. Our division finally was approved to be its own separate entity so we now have our own VP our own connections and money to the real university. We don't fall under any other group and its great. There are tons of changes that are going to take place and it is sooo exciting.

Karen