A Simple Woman's Daybook~October 25, 2015

Our lives pass swiftly by! I want to do something to remember

the everyday moments and my thoughts about them.  

That is what this Daybook is all about.

Focusing on the little things that become my life.

One entry at a time.

Just for today~Saturday, October 25, 2015

Outside my window...It is dark, so dark I cannot see my hand in front of my face out there.  It is nearly 8:00 and it feels like about 11:00 pm. Sundays are strange as we have church from 11:00 to 2:00.  We eat dinner after church and then the night drags on and on.  Going to bed at 9:00 can't work.  Then I wake up at 1:00 and I'm wake all night, thinking about what I have to do the next day.  Then I am too tired to do it because of lack of sleep.  Haha...  

These are the bemoanings of a woman who is getting older.  In my younger years seasons and time changes didn't affect me at all, nor daylight or darkness.  But now the body is in sync and keenly aware of all of that.  All the changes seem to be harder adjustments.  For you young ones out there, it is like jet lag and you haven't even gone anywhere!

I am thankful for...my life.  I view everything as a gift from our Father in Heaven and am grateful for it.  All the blessings and all the challenges that bring understanding and learning. 

In Church today we talked about how a grateful heart can marvel all day long at the gifts from God. That heart sees God's hand in it all.   While an ungrateful heart spends most of its time complaining about the state of things and often feels entitled to something better.  That heart focuses on what it doesn't have instead of what it does have.  Then when there is a blessing the heart thinks it deserves it and earned it, etc.  Or even worse it thinks it was just a lucky break or a coincidence rather than a gift from God.    Gratitude and unhappiness are not compatible.  An unhappy heart is not a grateful heart.  A grateful heart is not unhappy.

From the learning room...I am learning about relationships, I am learning about family history, I am learning history itself and technology and long- suffering with some chronic pain.  I am learning about life stages...I am learning about love.  When we say we love someone..it is what we do for them.  It is not about what they do for us.  When we get our expectations out of whack that gets a little too selfish.  I think to love someone for who they are trumps to love them for what we can get out of it.  Of course we all want that love to be mutual.  But sometimes it just isn't.  Expectation adjustments help!  Love is what we give.

I am reading...The Orphan Trains, in my spare time.  Which means I have read about two pages and it is waiting for me by my chair, just in case I find some of that spare time.

On Pinterest This Week....I pinned a lot of pins.  I find it relaxing there when I have worked really hard or am bothered by something it brings me back to the things I love.  Beauty of the earth, order, family, worthy and wholesome activities and daydreams.  https://www.pinterest.com/onedesigner/

From the kitchen...I made a huge pot of soup yesterday and scorched it.  I have to do it over soon which means going shopping again for all the ingredients.  Ugh, I wish cooking and I could become friends but it's not looking likely.  I have never burned something like that before it was awful.  

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...my thoughts are still lingering over the wonderful conference talks we heard in the beginning of October.  The leaders of the church have been like dear friends over the years.  We enjoy our reunion with them every six months and hearing their wise counsel.  I love that we can revisit the talks from General Conference anytime we want to on lds.org.

Someone I am praying for this week...Our dear friend, Mike, who is very ill right now and his family, our family and our friends always. We pray for all of you that have specific needs that we are aware of and the world in general.

I am hearing.. some instrumental Christmas music.  I know...don't judge.  You know that two months from today Christmas 2015 will be over at the stoke of midnight.  I know how fast two months goes. I don't want to miss any of it.  I love Christmas and I want to be better organized than ever this year.  So I am starting to organize a lot of it in my mind already.

One of my pleasures...I really like teaching.   It is so hard for me and I work so hard at it.   It feels so good when all the preparation is done and you have given your presentation.   If someone has benefited from it in some small way that is enough.  

It makes me feel like I have a purpose and a service to do and that I am needed.  I think all women need that after the kids are long gone.  It is wonderful to feel part of something as vital as family history.  I feel that my careers have been varied and interesting.  Corporate, Medical, Design, and now this wonderful discipline of genealogy has me spellbound.  I have every intention of doing it as long as I live. When the passion for something runs deep it brings so much satisfaction into your life.  And writing...that is my cherry on top.  I couldn't ask for more.

Pet Peeves...that we have to listen to election politics for another 16 months, but whose counting?  I am.  

Past Remembrance...our youngest granddaughter...

When Hazie was just three. 

 She is one adorable little girl.  

Now she is eight!

She is a little bundle of pure love!

If I could change one thing it would be..That cancer would just go away.  Forever.

An enjoyable movie/TV show we have watched lately...We watched
The White Countess last night.  It was very good.  A movie from 2005.

I Am Quoting...

I am curious about...what El Nino will do for us and to us this winter. Jim has been working on our drainage all week coming down from the hill. I am so grateful to have such a hardworking, talented and good husband.  He works tirelessly around here to keep things up.  I am blessed.

Plans for the rest of the week...Starting my fall cleaning to prepare for the holidays, meeting with friends, working on Tuesday and teaching the staff, hopefully seeing Carol who has been under the weather this past week. Wednesday more cooking...soup reprise. Thursday or Friday hopefully a day trip to San Francisco.  Maybe a movie in a real theater.  All the usuals of running a house and some computer work on the Family Tree.  Touching base with as many people as I can.

One of my favorite things...our family.  I miss our kids so much. The grandkids are growing up so fast.  Laura and Robert went on an overnighter and left the boys home alone.  What?  Oh yeah, they are teenagers now.  Spencer nearly 17.  So it was OK they did very well on their own.  They are such good boys. Our cousins, I miss them all. We miss all our family all the time.  We are planning some time together this next summer and it will take that long to get everyone's schedule to jive.  I look forward to that so much.  So yeah, family surely my most favorite thing of all.  Those far and near and those friends adopted through love.

Some things that made me so happy this past week...just reflecting on all the happy things that happened in Washington a few weeks ago that you can read about in the post below this one if so inclined   An all day seminar that we had been planning at the library for months finally happened last week and it turned out very well.  Hearing that our friend Judy did not have a heart attack.  Texting with my friend every night, letters from some family members, it was just a great week.  I had dinner with five friends.  That was really fun too.

The most surprising thing this past week...was not a happy one.  It was learning that our friend has an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Here are two photos I'm sharing... We haven't had much Autumn around here this year so far.  But I love it so much I am enjoying it on Pinterest instead.

Gorgeousness

Happy Halloween if you're into that!

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BE HAPPY AND CARRY ON!
Take Care Of You For Me!