it's not done growing yet!!!

In a day or two the "arms" will be taller than the actual cactus! Way cool!!

picture-"Come Forth" by Walter Rane

"...if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." Alma 48:17

This picture paired with the scripture gives me goose-bumps! It is one of the most amazing stories in the Book of Mormon...to me anyway. Throughout my divorce, I looked to the scriptures for comfort. Because of that specific trial of mine...this story meant so much. Captain Moroni-fighting for and standing up for what he believes in. I have drawn so much strength from the example of Captain Moroni. I remember feeling like my small, new family was being targeted by the adversary. I read this story in the scriptures and knew that I had to fight. We all have to! The world is a scary place these days and almost nothing is guaranteed.
I was speaking with someone this week about trials. She isn't a church member but u don't have to be to go through hard times! I told her about a Relief Society lesson that helped me to actually appreciate my trials! The teacher asked all of us to think about the hardest thing we have EVER been through. Mine was pretty easy. Then she had a hat filled with lots of pieces of paper. She told us that if we wanted to we could trade our trial for one in the hat! Um....nobody decided that was a good idea! It made me think about how our specific trials are tailor-made. They are just for us because Heavenly Father knows us! He knows our strengths and weaknesses-He knows which of us have been given specific tools. He will only give us trials that He KNOWS we can get through! I was thinking about the hat. What if I traded my divorce trial for another one and got....cancer or something! Cancer wasn't supposed to be my trial then! Heavenly Father knows me and knows that I had a family who would stand by my side and support me. He knew I had a testimony of prayer and the scriptures and He knew I had faith. I was ready to learn and grow from that and he allowed it to happen. Now it wasn't easy to go through and it was not fun but...I was given what I needed to get through it. I am so thankful for the person that I have become because of that specific trial.
I recently found a quote that I love to just think about! It says, "The Holy Ghost brings peace. It is the one feeling Satan cannot duplicate. He can duplicate pleasure, momentary happiness, and so on. But he cannot duplicate pure joy and peace." (Sally H. Barlow) I love that!!! It's true! Just recently I was praying and needed to be comforted. I needed some guidance and was listening for an answer to a question I asked. I will never forget the wave of peace I felt. I STILL feel it and there is no way that this amazing feeling could be reconstructed by anyone other than our Heavenly Father. I was trying to think of why that is. Satan hasn't ever felt this! He doesn't know what joy feels like. He will never have peace! It makes perfect sense.
I know I have kind of unloaded my brain but to tie everything up...our Heavenly Father knows us, loves us, and wants us to learn, grow, and be happy!
"If you want to be happy, be."
-Leo Tolstoy

im thinking "Little Shop of Horrors"

If my cactus carries on @ this pace....I may need to get a bigger condo. Have you seen "Little Shop of Horrors"?

creepy cactus!!!!!

So....um...it's only been about 4 days and it has grown at least an inch. It's like it has arms!! It may not be a big deal but that doesn't mean I'm not watching out for it to grow little hands. Then I might have to just put it in a cage. Any suggestions as to what I should do with a possessed cactus....if the cage plan falls through?

my testimony

This isn't going to be the typical Easter blog but I couldn't go another second without saying what's on my mind and in my heart.
I haven't been more full of the Spirit in a very long time, and maybe even EVER in my whole life. I almost don't even have the words to express this wonderful feeling. It's happiness unlike anything I have ever felt. It's peaceful and comforting. I have gotten on my knees several times today...looking for answers. I was prompted to read the scriptures - a section that is very special to me. I wondered why...because it is a section I know well and read often (just recently read actually). After following these promptings, I realized the answer to one of todays prayers. What an amazing thing! I wish these letters I am typing could show the actual feeling behind them. I am so thankful for that communication between Heavenly Father and I...because it is such a delicate and precious thing. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that He loves and knows us. He wants us to communicate with Him and He does answer our prayers. I am so thankful for the scriptures and for the amazing stories of courage and strength that are found within them. I am tremendously grateful for the priesthood and for those that I know and love who honor it. The priesthood is one of the most important things to have in a home. I know that the Savior suffered and died for us. He knows our pains and was willing to suffer for us so that we might make righteous decisions and return home to the presence of our Father in Heaven. They want us to be happy! I know that these things are true. I know that because I have felt and experienced them. I say these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

a billion things that make me happy...

...in no specific order.

Love songs
The smell of summer
*stars*
Lime green
Gnomes (don't ask)
The sound a zipper makes
Laughing
Chocolate
The smell of a new book
Cheese!
Being organized
Helping others get organized
Feeling appreciated
A good hair day
My favorite pillow
Helping someone relax
Road trips
Compromising
Finishing a good book
Unexpected text messages
Cozy blankets
Receiving mail
Someone to cuddle
Dust storms
Tulips & poppies
Clouds
A new bottle of shampoo
Poetry
Sleeping in (though I never do)
Bass boost
A hot shower
Funny quotes
Remembering the looks my dog would give me
Rubber duckies
A cold glass of water
Fleece
Loyal friends
Parks
Driving
Acoustic versions of songs
Van Gogh paintings
Shopping
Reaching goals
Cold, crisp bed sheets
Open windows
Fresh cut grass
Stretching
The smell of warm photocopied papers
Being independent
Sunday afternoons
Fortune cookies
Empty picture frames
Palm trees
Listening to music in the dark
A clean kitchen
Compliments
Learning
Becoming an expert
Teaching
Baby monkeys
Bleach
Frozen yogurt
Picnics
Bubbles
Sandwiches
Greeting cards
Candle light
Homemade rolls
Ribbon
Cookie cutters
Airports
Holding hands
Cookbooks
Monsoons
Playing board games
Daydreaming
Lists!
Feeling content
My KitchenAid mixer
Mapquest
Cantaloupe
Singing in the car (I don't hold back)
Intense football games
Green bananas
Puppies
The smell of a blossoming orange tree
Hammocks
Wishing on stars
Being Italian
Whispering
Books on cd
Laughing so hard that I slip into silent-laugh-mode
Shakespeare
A new box of Crayola crayons
The "hoola-whappers" at the automatic car wash
Air guitar
No makeup days
Being barefoot

im telling you.....its cool!

this is what happens when im bored...

So I have 6 little cacti on my coffee table and one of them is way awesome. I swear, out of the blue, it started growing another arm. Actually not just one.....TWO...in the same spot. Siamese twin style. now I'm not from az and I don't pretend to know anything about cacti but I thought that when one grows an arm...it grows like an inch over 100 years or something!! This lil guy has grown two arms in a week. Maybe 5 days. Every time I look at it it's like twice as big. Anyway...ya. I'm really bored. But this cactus IS way cool.

on my bathroom mirror....

Ok. We already know I love quotes. Well these ones are up all around my bedroom. You should see my bathroom mirror! I love being able to read them as I get ready in the morning. (and as I check myself out throughout the day:) jk) These quotes are the best of the best!

"Take pride in how far you have come-have faith in how far you will go."

"Open your eyes to a better life. It may hurt at first but that's because the future is so bright."
-Jordan Porcher

"Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory."
-George S. Patton

"If it is to be-it's up to me!"
-Pat Tillman (I don't know if he originally said it but I know he said it once! :)

"All things come round to him who will but wait."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking up at the stars."
-Oscar Wilde

"Courage is not the lack of fear but the ability to face it."
-Lt. John B. Putnam Jr.

"Tough times don't last but tough people do."
-AC Green

"If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body is never tired if the mind is not tired."
-George S. Patton

"The chief cause for failure and unhappiness is trading what we want most for what we want at the moment."

"As long as you wake up on the right side of the dirt...there is always hope!"
-Paula Dean

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can."
-Sydney Smith

"You don't always have to have the answers but you have to be able to endure. I'm gonna still cry though...but my tears don't compromise my strength. They never have."
-kleenex commercial:)

"Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but what happens inside of you."
-Harold B. Lee

quotes that make me laugh!

"If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners."
-Johnny Carson

"Cómo frijoles? (Spanish for 'how have you bean?')
-unknown

"Your chances of getting hit by lightning go up if you stand under a tree, shake your fist at the sky, and say, "storms suck!"
-Johnny Carson

"You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone."
-Johnny Carson
(I didn't realize how cool johnny carson was!)

"A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who has never owned a car."
-Carrie Snow

"Half of analysis is anal."
-Marty Indik

"Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice kitty" until you can find a rock."
-Will Rogers
(Sorry cat lovers!)

"Cleaning anything involves making something else dirty, but anything can get dirty without something else getting clean."
-Lawrence J. Peter

"When in doubt, duck."
-Malcolm Forbes

"She was what we used to call a suicide blonde-dyed by her own hand.
-Saul Bellow

"If at first you don't succeed, find out if the loser gets anything."
-Bill Lyon

"Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil."
-J. Paul Getty

"Cannibals aren't vegetarians, they're humanitarians."
-unknown

"When they asked George Washington for ID, he just took out a quarter."
-Steven Wright

Tell the truth and run.
-Yugoslavian Proverb

"Men are like fine wine. They begin as grapes and its up to women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with."
-unknown

"Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Not lifting weights doesn't kill me. Therefore not lifting weights makes me stronger."
-Jack Handey

"The only thing that makes me believe in UFOs is that...sometimes I lose stuff."
-Jack Handey

"Something tells me that the first mouse trap wasn't designed to catch mice at all, but to protect little cheese "gems" from burglars."
-Jack Handey