When it comes to living our lives, Christ doesn't make up the difference. He IS the difference.

Today in my Gospel Principles class, I touched briefly on the Atonement and its meaning in our lives. It was a wonderful lesson because the Spirit taught all of us. We all have struggles in our lives. We all have times when we ask the Lord if He can't take our burdens away from us. There are times that He removes our burdens, but when He cannot, He makes them lighter. In the April Ensign of 2001, Elder Holland states, "If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, 'Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,' then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn't an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn't an easier way. . . to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, [we] will have to...

Well, as I suspected, all I had to do was take care of the food and the laughter and fun took care of itself. Just as it did in college. It was wonderful to have most of us together, reminiscing about old times. We didn't spend time talking about boys(except for me), but we talked about our families. I have to admit that we are all wonderfully strong members of the church and I am once again so grateful to the Lord for the blessings that he has bestowed upon me and continues to bestow. We don't talk on a regular basis. Perhaps two or three times a year, but when we get together it's just as if time hasn't passed. We can enjoy one another's company and appreciate one anothers differences. I am so grateful for "low maintenance friends". The ones who recognize that life goes on while we're apart, but can be just as joyful when we're blessed to be together. There's a saying that relates, "The family that prays together, stays together....

Allison loves getting her picture taken . . . unless putting her hand in front of her face would get her more attention. The Happy Hiker! He sure is growing up! Beautiful Kolob Canyons! So I went on my first date since Ryan broke up with me . . . a day and a half long date. Michael came from Illinois to visit me, so I let him stay in our trailer overnight. We spent yesterday 4-wheeling, then dinner, a walk, and today we hiked in Kolob. It was nice to go out. It was fun to talk. But overall, I realized how I really don't think I'm ready to do this. I don't want to date and search all over to find someone. My life is worth living, and I'm wasting time trying to find someone online, and there's no one worth dating around here. If I'm supposed to remarry, the Lord will provide the opportunity, and if not, then I will live life alone. But either way, I'll trust in Him and His timing and I'll continue to pray as I did before I met Ryan. "Please...

It's frustrating to be back in the dating world again with all of its games and broken hearts. Just a couple of months before Dave found out about the cancer, I remember watching a single, divorced young woman in our ward flirt with her "boyfriend." I remember rolling my eyes and thinking how grateful I was that I would never have to go through that again. And, just as the Lord always seems to do, He stepped in and helped me to realize that I should never say NEVER. I always said I would never move to Arizona. I did. I said I'd go anywhere but Tucson. We went to Tucson. I said I wouldn't move closer to the Mexican border. We moved to Sahuarita-20 minutes closer to the border. I vowed I would never move back to Cedar City because all of the people here are the same people that I went to college with! Then we moved back and joined them! After Dave passed away, I decided that I wouldn't date for the first year. I met someone 7 months later. Maybe I shoul...

We have been without Dave for 14 months today. In so many ways I think, "Is that all? We have been through so much without him." But,it has only been just over a year. Life has given us struggles aplenty and they continue to flood in. Thank heaven for my home teacher who visits every day and lends me help. If it weren't for him, I'd be drowning in my troubles right now. The kids are still having their own problems related to dad being gone. More than anything, they yearn, as I do, for things to be "back to normal." It was always normal for dad to be around. It was normal to have both mom and dad disciplining, and doing the work, etc. Now, it's just mom. Dad is not physically there at the games or the programs. He's not there to play catch. I can't feel his arms around me- comforting me when I'm lonely. We miss him. That yearning doesn't seem to dissapate with time, but the associated overwhelming sadness does. We are becom...

When Caden told me that he wanted to play baseball again this year, I didn't want to let him. I spent a majority of the time last year arguing with him over practice, and even some games. It becomes very demanding on the whole family since they practice 1 1/2 hours 3-4 days a week. With 1-2 games a week on top of that. I'm now really grateful that he's a part of it. Last year, they lost the first game, but won every other- including the playoff game. This year doesn't seem as promising, but they are still doing well. Caden has improved by leaps and bounds. Most especially in his dedication to the game. They lost the last game by two runs and had to do ladders because of it. Hopefully that doesn't happen again. Whether it does or not, he's really enjoying himself and that's a wonderful thing to see.

After Caden's ballgame last Saturday, we took off for a hike up Kolob Canoyon. The jury is still undecided as to whether we hiked 5 miles or 9, but I'm thinking the lesser of the two. (Don't tell Caden.) It's great to get out with the kids. Look at those dirty shoes! They were all such troopers. It was a much longer hike than I'd intended, but when they realized that the only way to get food and to rest was to keep walking back to the car, they kept on. Jacob and I are hiding from the sun in a cave . . . right next to some unidentied animal prints. . . We had a lot of fun hiking up to the double arch. It would have been twice as fast if we didn't have to cross the stream every 25 feet. It was just georgeous up there. No enhancements or changes made on this photo at all and a beautiful day to top it off!