{ Live. Laugh. Love. }

Spring is coming I can feel it:)

First up

WINNER WINNER IS 

#3-Maddie:)  

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Thanks for all your fun entries loved reading them and seeing that we all can't wait for SUMMER:) common theme after this long long winter were having:)

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Quiet kids who played for hours with marshmallows

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My Families Favorite Homemade Flour Tortillas
Our Best Bites Full recipe click here

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. very hot water
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. shortening

TIP: I roll my dough all  out and then take a small pan lid {I have Cuisinart art pans and basically cookie cutter them all and then individually roll and throw on pan:)

{though the Costco to cook ones are right up there when they have them in our country:)

Have you seen this website values.com super cool..

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Been trying this

 

its weird.... so naturally being weird I had to try....... but its kinda amazing...thats it....swish it...... research it... try it or don't;) 

but read these benefits

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Excited for Their New Cookbook

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 We woke up late every day this week rushed the kids out the door and rushed to get lunches done it's been a crazy time change for all of us hoping next week is better:)

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So last night was our wards March 17th party Celebration of the 172nd birthday of the Relief Society it was a really nice night from decor to program {I stole this pic from Kim coon:) hope she doesn't care} So I was asked to speak on Hope I pretty much sobbed through it. The speaker before me spoke on Faith and spoke about her daughters trial of infertility through heartache to failed procedures to adopting {a little close to home so I  was a little bit of a crying mess before I even started...

 I got asked to post it so I'm going to put it on here of course in real I elaborated a bit more on what was written ........but if it helps just one person than its worth it. Hope is what gets us through the hard times.. {So imagine a dark room lit with white lights around the room and candles in the center of the tables and as each of us spoke we turned on our lamp at our spots....}

Hope

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught: “Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time”

My favorite Scripture goes perfectly with the theme I was asked to speak on

Ether 12:6

"And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

One definition of the word hope is happy anticipation of something good. Live with expectancy. Go out each day looking for goodness. 

- Joel Olsteen

"hope is not pretending that troubles don't exist. it is the hope that they won't last forever. That hurts will be healed and difficulties overcome. that we will be led out of the darkness. and into the sunshine."

Hope is an emotion which brings richness to our everyday lives. It is defined as “the feeling that … events will turn out for the best.” When we exercise hope, we “look forward … with desire and reasonable confidence” . As such, hope brings a certain calming influence to our lives as we confidently look forward to future events.

Sometimes we hope for things over which we have little or no control. We hope for good weather. We hope for an early spring. We as women to have a loving spouse,  a next to perfect marriage, children and the list goes on and on and....and when our hope is dashed our faith is tested and life doesn't go as we dreamed we ........

"Sometimes  get caught up in the one-size-fits-all mentality, comparing  we feel that our lives should look like other people’s lives. But that’s really not true. Everyone has different trials, and Heavenly Father is aware of those. If we are humble enough to follow the plan He has for us, if we have hope and faith we’ll be happy.”

“What I would have planned for our life would pale in comparison to what God has given us. What He has in mind for His children is better than anything we could ever design.”

in an ensign article I swear was written just for me some things that were said were:

"God does not leave His children alone in their trials. "Never give up,"...."There is always Hope. Heavenly Father always has something in store for us. We have found that over and over. 

For a long time

"I felt lost. I felt I had no purpose. That's the ultimate goal isn't it, to get married and have a family?.... I felt broken, like I wasn't a real woman...."

"I remember wondering how something that was so important in life could be denied me, {{I am positive we all have similar situation fears and trials .......lost hope} 

My feelings of hurt ......pain for all others wanting a righteous desire only to have it denied...I felt more empathy towards others and learned that my attitude,and my spirit was growing and learning through this trial.....

Hearing new mothers say things like " God trusted me enough to bless me with this baby." I can understand why they say that. It's a fair statement. But in my situation without a child I couldn't help but think, "God doesn't trust me." "I felt so left out. So hopeless and HELPLESS... I felt my faith waver and questioned many many times. Why were all these other women getting to experience pregnancy? I had tried to live my life worthily and do things I knew were right. So why wasn't it happening for me?"

Then I read this quote one day...

" When someone has an ailment or an illness and they are healed as a result of a blessing, their faith is being strengthened. But for those of us who aren't healed their faith is being perfected. the first is a faith-promoting experience. the second is faith-perfecting. -Brenda H.

"I couldn't and can't change the infertility, but I can progress in other areas of my life......I finally realized that infertility wasn't a punishment. I was my refiner's fire."-angie belnap

" It helped me realize amid a lot of unknowns that I was really blessed to have a husband who is so good to me, who loves me, and who was willing to work through this together....It didn't mean that we got rid of the ups and downs. It didn't mean that there weren't times that were scary. But we've learned so much and grown so much closer because of what we've been through." and because of HOPE....it lead us down a road we never

We then began to look at Adoption we had never really thought about it until it became our only option.

"We long for the ultimate blessing of the Atonement—to become one with Him, to be in His divine presence, to be called individually by name as He warmly welcomes us home with a radiant smile, beckoning us with open arms to be enfolded in His boundless love. How gloriously sublime this experience will be if we can feel worthy enough to be in His presence! The free gift of His great atoning sacrifice for each of us is the only way we can be exalted enough to stand before Him and see Him face-to-face. The overwhelming message of the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. "There is joy guaranteed for the faithful.” –Henry B. Eyring

As you turn more fully to Christ and bring your life in line with His teachings, you are promised great hope and peace,  sincere joy. He is the ultimate source of comfort and will never leave you alone.

“Trials and difficulties can, if we let them, become holy places—places where we can feel the power of the Atonement in our lives. Our struggles can be consecrated to our good and growth, and you and I can become more like Christ ....through hope.”
—Kris Belcher

We should all face the future with hope because we know that the forces of evil will be overcome. We should all maintain a positive outlook as we face challenges because today we have the scriptures, the teachings of living prophets, priesthood authority, temples, and the support of each other as members of the Church. We should all “come off conqueror” because of prayer (D&C 10:5). And most important, we should have hope in eternal life because of the Lord’s perfect atoning sacrifice (see Moroni 7:41).

When our priorities are right, we will live a richer and more abundant life. Putting the Lord, His kingdom, and our families first will give us the hope we need to face present and future challenges.

I know this is true and I am so thankful for my life, my trials in what they have taught me and in turn given me hope and  far more than I ever dreamed possible 

I feel blessed yet my heart still aches sometimes but it's okay I have hope......WE ALL HAVE OUR HEARTACHES SOME MORE THAN WE COULD EVER IMAGINE.  BUT because I have Hope in the Future and in the Atonement that it is there for all of us

 hope got me where I am today.....

I have been blessed throughout the years and am thankful for my little family, my husband and for a Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers in ways we never imagined. I know that being strong HAVING HOPE  and following that still small voice and praying like we've never prayed before will get us farther than we ever thought possible. Staying true to the Gospel and every beautiful thing it provides in our lives will bring us closer to him and closer to where we are meant to be. 

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"Often people who criticize your life are the same people that don't know the price you paid to get to where you are today."

-Love this. Everybody has a story. Be nice:)

Make it the best week yet:)