Dare to Stand Alone

Last week, my son Michael, who is at a very curious age, asked what 9/11 was about. I thought about it all day and decided to show him a picture, like the one below, and explain what happened on that very tragic day.

(image source) http://www.freeallimages.com/911-pictures/

He was completely saddened and mortified. You could see it on his face.

He asked why things like this happen and why would anyone want to do something like that. 

I explained to him that there are people who don't believe in what we believe and that they have agency to choose what they want to do in their own lives.

He apparently didn't think that was an acceptable answer!!! He then asked,"Are we the only ones who believe in God?" I assured him that we are not the only ones!!

But it made me think of the counsel given to us by our beloved Prophet Thomas S. Monson. 

"As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone? "

I explained this to my nine year old in the very best way that I knew how, wondering how much he understood. But I already know that he DOES understand. He has the courage to tell a man older than his mother that he doesn't like when he swears because it makes him feel bad. He has the courage to tell his peers that what they are watching is not what he should be watching. 

We have great influence over how our kids act and react to different situations. We as their parents have the courage, they know that, and in turn they demonstrate the same courage!! 

"As parents we can be examples of the positive effects of living with honesty and integrity in all we do. Even in the face of disappointment or betrayal by others - especially in those cases - we can look to gospel truths for hope. It is by holding to eternal truths that we can be an example of hope for a brighter future." -Margaret D. Nadauld

Saturday the Great!!

This past Saturday was AMAZING!!

First, we celebrated little A's birthday, Anrgy Birds style! He LOVES the game so I made some angry birds and pigs for him and he was excited to say the least!

I just can't believe he is 4!!!!! I love that boy more than words can express!

Here is a pic of him with his talking garbage truck that he has wanted since the Christmas before last! He was pretty happy to get this!

After his party, we headed to church to witness the baptism of my mom, my nephew and my niece! BEST DAY EVER! I was so overcome with emotion!! I love my family SOOOO much!

The pic below is of the elders that taught them, my mom, nephew and niece and my husband, who actually performed the baptisms.

The Spirit was SO strong! No one could contain themselves!

Here is another pic of them below! They looked great and felt just as wonderful!!

I have been a member of the church for almost twelve years and never in my wildest dreams did I think anyone in my family would ever want to join.

Now, I know how powerful prayer is. God may not answer every prayer when we want or how we want, but he does answer prayers.

My ENTIRE immediate family came. It was wonderful. We all laughed, smiled and cried together. What a great feeling it was!

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and want to share it with the entire world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Baptisms Gallore!

This is part of my family.

I love them so much! ALL of my nieces and nephews and my two boys!

Something VERY special happened tonight. The missioaries came over for their final discussion with my mom, my nephew (the one in yellow) and my niece (the one in red!).

Before we even started, my mom told my nephew to tell the missionaries the suprise! I was so excited when my nephew said,"We are getting baptized on the 25th! I could have died!

In TWO weeks, my mom, nephew and niece will all become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ! I am beyond excited for her and the kids!

Having your very own testimony of the gospel is so important. It's what I have wanted for my mom for 12 years now! But I knew that it's not something to be forced. It is a slow, steady, wonderful process and when you have it, you KNOW it! That's how my mom said she felt!!!

So three of my family members are being baptized in two weeks, my son M is getting baptized in November (I can't believe he will be 8!) and my other nephew (the one in the green) will be baptized in December.

OH, how blessed I feel. I am grateful for my brother, who is not a member, for being such a great dad and allowing his children to follow their hearts. Takes a strong man to let go a little.

And to my mom, I love you. I am glad you found your own testimony and allowed the Lord to bless you with His gospel!!

And to ALL the missionaries serving everywhere, THANK YOU for all that you do! You will be forever in the hearts of those you serve! I will never forget the missionairies who taught me and helped change my life forever!

Have a wonderful night y'all!!!

Love letter!

Dear Mr. Groundhog,

I don't know where you have been, but six more weeks of winter sounds CRAZY! You are from PA?? right??

Dear Husband of mine,

Thank you for letting me be the crazy, "productive", crafty, tired, over-exercising, scale-looking-three-times-a-day wife, and still loving me!!!

Dear M,

Thank you for doing your double digit math assignment ALL BY YOURSELF today and getting every single answer right! When did you get so smart??!!!

Dear little A,

Thank you for allowing M to get his math paper done all by himself ! You painted your letter G and loved every minute of it!! You and your brother are complete opposites when it comes to things like that and I love it!

Dear missionaries,

Thank you for traveling to teach my mom, nephews and nieces the gospel. You are wonderful and brave and I will feed you (bonus!!) I hope their hearts and minds will be receptive to the message you have planned and I hope you guys go home with a full belly!

Dear Spring,

Thank you for hanging out ALL through this winter! You must know that I love you and that's why you've decided to stay for a minute!

Dear Ruby,

Thanks for being a great dog and walking partner! I wouldn't want to walk by myself and your killer bark scares the pants of most people, even though you wouldn't hurt a fly!  I love ya Rubster!

Love,

Naomi

Yep, that was ME

As a teenager, I was a girl that I can't imagine myself being. I partied. I didn't dress modestly at all. I decided it was important to have two tattoos. I never went to church. I never read my scriptures. I never prayed. I was as far away from God as a person could be. I was going nowhere pretty fast!! I didn't think of God as having much of an affect in my life. I never cared for what people said was good for me.

At the age of 18, I met a person that FOREVER changed my life. I was completely head over heels for this guy. That is until he asked me to go to church with him. (It's ok now, he is my hubby!!!) I was introduced to something that I pushed away for SOOOO long.

I went to church. Not just any church, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was thinking, "What is this place?" Truth be told, I never heard of it before. I was thinking of how scared I would be walking into such a place. Of course we were late!! So as we walked in, everyone turned to see who this person was. I sat through sacrament petrified of what people would say and what they would think of "the new girl".

After sacrament, i wanted to leave! But I'm glad I didn't. The people were incredibly kind. They treated me like they have known me for years!! I was feeling better!!

As we left and went back home, I was asked to meet with the missionaries. And to my suprise, I said sure! I was intrigued. I wanted to know more.

I met with the missionaries and they asked me to read the Book of Mormon. I said, "The book of what??" I was in awe that there was something out there besides the Bible that was considered scripture. So I accepted. I took that book. I tried reading it. I felt the Spirit. That was it for me!! I was baptized after two months of discussions with the missionaries. I remember thinking, "I found it!!" It was what I needed in my life. I felt complete!! August 12, 2000 was the day that changed my life forever. And my hubby Adam was the man that had the courage to share it with me.

I've learned through reading my scriptures that ALL of the things I did as a teenager could be wiped away if, and only if, I repented and asked for forgiveness. I have done that. I feel better than I ever did.

"Behold, He sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you." - Alma 5:33

Thanks for reading my story. I know it's personal but I remember thinking when I joined the church that I shouldn't be there because I wasn't perfect. I'm sure there are others who feel that way too. Don't be discouraged. We all have made mistakes. It's how we handle what we do after that makes the biggest difference!!!!!!!!

Have a wonderful day!!

Pumpkin Pickin' and Family

One and a half weeks ago, my family and I went to a wonderful place called Trax Farm here in western PA. It truly is my favorite thing to do with my family! I look forward to it every year!

Below is a picture of my boys with all of their cousins!!We had so much fun with them!! Especially the little twins! It was there first time here and they LOVED the pumpkins!!!!!!!

This second picture is a pic of my guys, waiting ever so patiently to go into this huge bounce house they had set up!! I was oh so very sick and was miserable the whole day, so they did a lot of waiting patiently!! I ended up finding out that I had strep throat!! I was so sad to be sick on my favorite day of the year! Oh well! There is always next year!

I have mentioned before that I am the only member of the church in my family and I am grateful for my knowledge of the gospel. I am blessed to have such a WONDERFUL family that loves and supports me! I hope one day that my testimony will help them to understand the gospel. I hope that we can all be a forever family!! That is my hope! For now, I am just happy to be with them and make as many memories as possible with them!!

If you have a chance, go here and learn more about the Book of Mormon and the church. Jocelyn is doing a wonderful Book of Mormon forum that I am in love with!

Decide this day....

My oldest son M will be turning 7 in about a month (tear) and a goal I have set for myself is to re-read the Book of Mormon before his birthday. I want to spend time over the year until he turns 8 having one-on-one time reading and studying the Book of Mormon. I know he is young but I want him to have a testimony, no matter how small, of the Book of Mormon. I don't want him to be baptized  just because I say so!!!!!!

As I was reading, I was struck by a couple of verses in Alma 5: 15-17. It reads:

"Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?

Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say -- Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth -- and that he will save you?"

I hope to stand before God and know that I did the very best that I could while I was in this mortal body. I know that He knows each one of us on a very personal level. He wants us to do our best. And even more, He wants to help us do our very best!! He is there to listen. He wants us to live by faith, knowing that He is there and that He cares. We need to listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost and follow it's promptings.

I have a lot to work on!! I know that the Savior lives and loves each one of us!! He will help us get through the tough times. Rely on Him!! He will help you!!!

For more info on the Book of Mormon, go to http://www.mormon.org/. 

Saddle up!

I guess it's time to buck up and get ready because I have an entire herd to reign in!!! (Wow, that was a whole lot of twang there!! At least in my head there was!!)

Yesterday I was officially called as the primary president in our branch. (Primary president is "in charge" of the children in my church . Check out www.lds.org). Woah. I always wondered what it would feel like if this ever happened. Once again I say....woah. I know most people probably feel the same way but there is no way to describe it. Scary, overwhelming(in a good way), exhausting (once again in a good way!), but fun!! I love the kiddos in our Primary. They are amazing. The knowledge they have and their love for the gospel overwhlems me!! I tear up pretty much every time they speak.
I love this gospel!! I especially love the children. 

Everyone wonders why there is so much excitement for me. I didn't grow up in the gospel. I joined when I was 18. I missed Primary and Young womens and jumped straight into Relief Society. Not that it's a bad thing, but I like experiencing it. Especially with my kiddos.

Anyone out there have any advice, PLEASE don't hesitate!! I am very open to any advice. I love all of you that follow this little ol' blog! You are all inspirational to me!!!!

Beautiful day...

Just a quick little post tonight! I helped paint my brothers house this evening and I'm exhausted!! Good feeling to do some service though!!

Before my hubby and I painted, we attended a baptism. It was truly remarkable! The Spirit was so strong there and the young man that was baptized will make an awesome addition to our branch! =) I remember being baptized a little over ten years ago. I was a timid, shy 18 year old girl, scared to death of what I was getting myself into! The gospel absolutely changed my life for the better! I am stronger knowing who I am, and knowing my worth to a loving Father in Heaven! Being the only member in my family was the HARDEST part. They didn't understand and some of them still don't. When I got sealed in the temple, I devistated my whole family. Leaving my mom to go to the Washington, D.C. temple just about cracked me. I am glad I did what I knew was the right thing for me. Now my mom understands. She supports me and I love her for that!

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ! To learn more visit www.lds.org.

Thanks for visiting!! Have a great night!!

My Family!

This is a picture of my side of the family. I have three brothers...yeah! Living with three brothers made me tough at least. All my nieces and nephews are there. My brothers are the two tall bald ones and the one kneeling with the dogs. The man in the pink shirt is a friend of our family. The girl with dark hair on the left is my brothers, the one with the hat, girlfriend. The girl in the pink shirt is my little brothers wife. The beauty down on the end in the black shirt is MaDukes. And the two dogs are my brothers...kids? That's what he says anyways. That's my family. I'll have to get a picture of Adams side of the family and post it too.

I love family. Even when it's hard, they are family. There is great comfort in that. None of my family members are members of the church like I am and that's OK. They support me now and that's all I need. Someday maybe I'll get them whipped into shape!!! Just kidding! The Lord leads and guides people in their own time. The time He had planned for me was perfect. It will be 10 years this August since I joined the church. I was ready for it. I didn't go looking for it. It found me. My husband introduced me to the church. I just felt it. You know what I mean? When every fiber of your being knows it's right even when your brain is trying to fight it. I'm still working on my testimony. All I know is that the church is true. Other religions have amazing truths to them as well, but we have the entire gospel in our grasps. It's amazing!! I was reading through my scriptures looking at the things I highlighted and it reassures me constantly that what I'm doing is right. I read about baptisms for the dead, Christ teaching in the Spirit World, and all the things that need to transpire before Christ comes again. It's happening and some don't see it. The Lord knows us each and knows the desires in our hearts. Keep your head up and your heart open! Amazing things will happen!

That's enough rambling!!! Thank you for stopping by and checking things out in my average ordinary life!!!!! Hope you are having a great day!!!!!