Little Miracles

Both my youngest sisters, Ginger and Cami have recently had little babies.  Oscar and Lottie.  I just sit and look at the pictures they send and smile.  It amazes me how little and amazing they are.  Oscar lives in Texas and Lottie lives in South Dakota.  Maybe one day I will live close enough to them to get to know them a little better.

Brooke is back at BYU and has started new classes.  It just makes me feel helpless when she needs me and I am unable to be there for her.  I am so grateful to my sister in law, Rachelle for filling in as mom for me while I am so FAR away.  I am excited that I get to go and visit Oscar and Brooke at the end of February.  I am hoping that it works out that I can meet Lottie too.  I am flying through Austin, TX and staying with my parents for a couple of days (my parents are renting a house there for 1 month to get out of the February, UT cold and to be closer to Cami, juan and kids) and then on to SLC to see Brooke at BYU and stay at my parent's abandoned home.  Hopefully Ginger, Sam and family can make the 10 hour drive to visit so I can meet Lottie too.

The new year always brings on New Year resolutions.  I have made a couple that hopefully will make me more aware of others and their needs around me.

1.  Do a good turn daily.  The boy scouts have got it right in this area.  I am going to consciously do a random act of kindness every day.  To really think it through (so probably not so random) and see if I can help make the world around me and my family a little better.

2.  Stop rushing through my personal prayer and scripture study.  I know that when I take a little more time I will be able to receive inspiration as to whom I should help.

3.  Do not move to anger with my children so quickly.  I am a little short tempered in my old age.  I need to speak more kindly and have more patience.

Hopefully I can have my hand in helping with some of the small miracles that happen every day.

I have a crazy  little story...I was finishing up some scout Arrow of Light signs for 2 boys in my old ward.  I picked up the can of finishing spray and remembered that I was almost completely out of it.  Of course I waited to the very last minute to finish the signs because they are some of the signs that I dread making (I have to do additional hand cutting to the vinyl).  I was sad that I was not going to be able to finish the signs tonight because they need them by tomorrow and I was thinking that I would have to run to the store early in the morning to get everything on and dry on time.  I had a little prayer of hope in my heart.

I took them out and set them up in the garage to spray anyway even though I thought for sure the spray would go maybe ...just maybe over half of the first one.  I started spraying around the outside edges of both signs.  Wow, it made it around the outside edges.  (the can I promise felt like it was completely empty).  Then I thought well, I might as well start spraying over the top to finish off as much as I can.  i started on one end of the first one and sprayed all the way across...then went to the second one and sprayed all the way across and when I got to the final corner it stopped spraying and I shook it a little and the spray came out to cover the very last corner of the sign and completely have the signs covered with the finishing spray.

Now some may not think that this is a miracle, but I am here to tell you...IT WAS A MIRACLE to me.  The spray in the can (even though it felt like there was none...I have been doing this for 9 years) was EXACTLY enough for what I needed to finish those signs for the young boys.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

I call that tender mercies as Elder Bednar describes.  The Lord sends us tender mercies in our lives to help remind us to be very thankful for things that happen in our lives.  I am so grateful that I do not have to leave tomorrow morning early (in negative degree weather) to go buy some spray.

Little miracles all around us.  I love to look at the pictures of those little babies.  I just can't wait until I can just sit and hold them and look into their real faces.  Love them!